Tales of Imagination
by Lia-Osaka92
Summary: Grimmjow must have done something really, really horrible in his past life, because all of a sudden, his boring new Literature teacher happens to be living right across the hallway. GrimmUlqui AU. Rated for language
1. Chapter 1 The raven

**Tales of Imagination**

_**Chapter One: The raven**_

"Ahhh… shit."

It was already ten in the morning, but Grimmjow felt it was too early to get up. A bit of sunlight had managed to slip through his thick black curtains and hit him square in the eyes, such a lovely way of starting his day.

Not.

He tried to cover his head with the sheets and go back to sleep but it was no use. Growling, he got up from bed and took a peek at the clock sitting on his nightstand. Ten thirty, he'd get there on time for fifth period. Not that he cared. He put on his old, dirty uniform and headed out for school.

As he locked the door to his apartment, he noticed piles of boxes outside the apartment right next to his. He cursed. The place had been empty since he had moved in, and he liked it that way. No cranky old ladies complaining about the thundering music of his weekend parties, no uptight couples scandalized about his porn movies (he liked to turn up the volume), no nerdy idiot to bitch about the noise of his videogames. Bottom line, he liked the apartment the way it was, empty.

He didn't want to see whoever had come to ruin his as of yet perfect bitchy-neighbour-less life, so he decided he'd just pull a random prank on the poor idiot when he came back from school.

* * *

><p>Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez was your everyday teenage delinquent. He was the kind of guy that skipped classes and was always late for school. The kind of guy that bullied weaker students and stole their lunch just for the fun of it. He was the brash kind of student that painted obscene graffitti on the principal's office, and started ill rumors about the teachers. He was the kind of guy that had the worst reputation and didn't give a shit about it. That was Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.<p>

By the time he arrived at school, it was already lunchtime. _Perfect timing_, he thought to himself, as he climbed to the rooftop to meet with his "friends". Every teenage delinquent must have a gang. Otherwise, the other delinquents could become his rivals. But they rather decided to team up to wreak havoc and have fun, fool around and piss the teachers off.

"Yo, Kittycat. 'S late yanno'? Thought ya wouldn' show up taday"

His main associate was called Nnoitra Gilga. Like Grimmjow, he was just another teenage delinquent. When they were not at each other's throats, they spent their time terrorizing students and vandalizing the school. That's how Grimmjow led his life, or something like that at least.

After chatting about what their next escapade would be, the bell marking the end of lunchbreak rang.

"Hey, ya comin' ta Tosen's class? Heard the bitch had'n accident er somethin' an' he won't be comin' over before April. Maybe we'll get a hot substitute er somethin' like tha'!"

"Thought ya had yer hands full with Nel. She's got'em big, ain't she?"

Nnoitra glared at him. "Yeah, 'n ya can't look a'em. 'Sides, I can still watch, can't I?"

Grimmjow smirked as they entered their classroom, which was already packed with students, all of them expecting anxiously to hear about the teacher's situation and what was going to be done about it. Nnoitra and Grimmjow took their seats at the back of the room and the taller teen took out a pair of scissors and started to scratch the wooden surface of his desk with them.

The door was suddenly opened by a skinny young raven-haired teen, probably a new transfer student, with pale skin, marred with green tear-looking tattoos on his cheeks, and big emerald eyes. He was carrying a black briefcase and wore a white dressing shirt, green tie and black pants instead of the regular uniform. He caught Grimmjow's eye instantly, though he wasn't sure if it was because he thought he was interesting or because he looked easy to terrorize.

The new student walked up to the teacher's desk and left his briefcase on top of it. He then started unpacking multiple things, as if the desk belonged to him. The other students were astonished, wondering why a fellow classmate felt so confident as to use the teacher's desk as if it were his own. Finally, the raven head took out a white chalk and started to write on the board.

"As you all might know, Tosen-sensei is temporarily incapacitated and could not continue teaching the Japanese Literature class. I will be taking his place until the end of this term. My name is Ulquiorra Cifer, pleased to meet you."

There was a deathly silence in the classroom as everyone tried to take in the news. Nnoitra growled something about "no boobs" in disappointment. Grimmjow was completely astonished. This guy couldn't be a teacher. He looked younger than him! Granted, he'd had to repeat his first highschool year because he had skipped and subsequently failed all of his classes, and so he was a year older than most of his classmates (except Nnoitra, that idiot was like… 19, 20? He would never get out of highschool in Grimmjow's opinion). But still, he was sure he'd beat up bigger guys than that so-called substitute teacher.

"Tche, how old is he, fourteen?" he muttered.

"My age should not concern you, Jaegerjaquez, but I am twenty-four. Next time you have a question, do raise your hand or there will be consequences."

The teen, no, scratch that, he wasn't a teen after all. The man's piercing green eyes met Grimmjow's for a fleeting moment, a slight warning imprinted in that cold gaze. Sheesh, not only did the substitute look like an elementary schooler, he was a creepo too. And he had needed less than five minutes to earn Grimmjow's dislike.

"Tosen-sensei did not leave a note of what I should be teaching you, or any specific program, so I will use my own and start from the beginning, even if we might not reach the end of it by the time I leave."

Grimmjow just wanted to run away. Tosen's classes were boring as fuck (the guy was freakin' blind and made them write their assignments in freakin' Braille), but this guy wasn't much better. His voice was deep and had that same droning property that Tosen's endless lectures about justice had. So, yeah, Grimmjow had been on his way to failing Literature _again_ because he skipped the class on a regular basis, and when he did show up he used the time to take a nap and never did his homework (why would he ever want to learn Braille, anyway?)

"I will not make any assumptions about how much previous knowledge you may possess, do not feel insulted if I simply assume you are completely ignorant on the subject we are dealing with. I will, thus start from the very beginning. It is considered that the Japanese culture did not possess any sort of written maniphestation before the Chinese writing was brought to the island from the mainland. As such, there is not any sort of literature before the Japanese learned to use the Chinese characters. After learning the Chinese system, the Japanese adapted them to their own phonetical system and gave each symbol their own pronunciation, which is why our language is so different to that of the Chinese, even if we use similar characters."

Grimmjow's ears perked a little. Tosen had never actually told them any of that. It was kinda boring still, but he surprised himself when he took out his Literature notebook, which was so far completely blank, and scribbled some random notes. The teacher was now writing some Kanji on the blackboard with their different Japanese and Chinese readings with an impeccable handwriting. He just had to be that kind of guy.

Three minutes before the bell rang, Cifer-sensei closed his books and put away his chalks.

"That will do for an introduction. Next class we will start with the actual Japanese Literature, but I thought it important that you had some basis on the historical, social and political context of the time that gave birth to the first pure Japanese literary productions. Before you leave I have an assignment that I want you to bring me for next class, which should be this Friday. I want each of you to write a haiku about any topic you prefer. A haiku is a short poem that contains seventeen syllables distributed in three sentences of 5, 7 and 5 moras respectively. I want to know each of you better so I hope all of you put your best effort into this assignment. I will see you next Friday."

As if on cue, the bell rang the moment he finished speaking. He picked up his briefcase and left the classroom without any further word. The students quickly dashed out of the room, trying to use what little time they had before the next class started to visit their friends in other classrooms or take a quick visit to the toilet. Grimmjow just growled, deciding he'd stay for the remaining classes of the day. Nnoitra said something about not being in the mood to stand that hat-and-clogs freak and left, agreeing to meet his partner in crime after the last class.

* * *

><p>Hours later, after graffiting "Aizen's hairspray kills the ozone" on the door of the teacher's lounge, Grimmjow rode his bike back to the apartment complex where he lived. He was surprised to see that there was still a bunch of boxes piled outside the apartment next to his. Seriously what was wrong with his so-called "new neighbours"? Not only did they come to screw up his perfect life, they were unable to sort out their mess, so Grimmjow decided to give them a piece of his mind.<p>

"Oi, fucker, get yer shit fixed already, it's blocking my way! Ya get this crap outta here or I'll burn'em down!"

He heard soft footsteps coming from the apartment and a short man came out of the door labeled with a number four.

"I thought I recognized your voice. I would ask you not to swear, it is unsightly. If you are in such a hurry to have these packages out of the way, you could help me carry them inside. Otherwise, I am quite sure you have more important things to do rather than making noise in the hallway."

Grimmjow's eyes grew the size of saucers as he saw his new substitute teacher, Ulquiorra Cifer, emerge from the previously abandoned apartment.

_Fuck._

* * *

><p>"No way, man. So ya got Cifer livin' next door? Well, maybe ya can get inta his pants, maybe tha' way ya'll pass this time. He kinda looks like a chick anyway, ya can just pretend."<p>

Grimmjow wanted to punch Nnoitra. Was the guy retarded? Wait, he totally was. How he'd managed to get the hottest girl in school was beyond him.

Having fucking Cifer living next door was the worst thing that could have ever happened to him. They had only crossed paths in the building twice, and he already hoped it would never happen again. The substitute sent him a deadpanned look that felt like green ice (what the fuck was 'green ice' anyway?) and left without a word.

Speak of the devil, Grimmjow thought, as the raven-haired man passed by them. And just like before, sent him an empty sideways glance without stopping on his track. There was something about that guy that made Grimmjow incredibly uneasy, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Oy, move it Kittycat. Let's steal Getaboshi's hat er sumthin'."

* * *

><p>That night, the apartment 6 was silent. No scandalous porn movies, no thundering music, no loud videogames. And that was because the inhabitant of said apartment was banging his head against the table, and sending glares at a blank sheet of paper, as if expecting for some random inspiration to pop out of nowhere.<p>

_What's wrong with me? I'll just not do it and that's it. 'S not like I care about fuckin' homework or fuckin' Literature. 'N poetry's for fags anyways."_

He glared at the blank paper again and it somehow reminded him of the empty glances he received from the stoic teacher. He furiously stabbed the paper with his pen and screamed in frustration.

"Screw you Cifer!"

* * *

><p>When Nnoitra Gilga arrived at school on Friday, just in time for Literature class, he found Grimmjow sleeping in the classroom. The blue-haired male had dark circles under his eyes, and he looked like he hadn't even changed his uniform from the day before.<p>

"Ya look like shit Kittycat."

Without even raising his head from the desk, Grimmjow threw a blind punch at the other man in annoyance.

"Shaddap Spoony, 'm sleepin'."

"Had fun last night?" Nnoitra smirked.

Grimmjow tried to punch him again, in a fruitless attempt to get him to shut up and let him sleep. He was _so_ not telling him that he had stayed up all night writing Cifer's stupid haiku.

The moment the bell rang, Ulquiorra Cifer came into the classroom. He carried the same air of cold indifference around him that he had the first time, it felt as if there was an unbreakable barrier between him and the students.

"Good afternoon. I hope all of you have brought your assignments. If so, please pass them over."

Grimmjow almost felt like keeping the paper to himself. He was Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, he _never_ did any assignments to begin with, let alone hand them over. But before he had time to ponder his possibilities, Ulquiorra came by his place and took the paper from his hands. Green eyes scanned through the characters with interest. A thick black eyebrow quirked with curiosity.

"Thank you, Jaegerjaquez."

* * *

><p>Grimmjow was pissed. Pissed at himself for writing the fucking haiku. Pissed at Cifer for reading it. Pissed at his crappy life for being so crappy. And especially pissed at Nnoitra who just <em>wouldn'..up.<em>

"Awww, yer such a good boy, Kittycat! Ya did yer homework! And Emo-bitch liked it! Didja write'im a love letter? Er maybe a dirty poem?"

The blue-eyed teen punched his crime partner in the stomach; he'd had enough of Nnoitra's retarded behaviour. The taller man growled angrily and cursed loudly as they left the building.

"The fuck's wrong with ya? Can't even take a little joke. By the way, Mr. Good Boy, I'm throwin' a party tanight. Wanna come over 'n get wasted? Or yer gonna stay home studyin'?"

There was nothing better to forget the loads of shit he'd had to stand this week than gallons of crappy booze from one of Nnoitra's infamous parties. He crooked a half grin as he followed the black-haired man, hoping that he'd be so hungover next morning that he wouldn't have time to worry about having Cifer next door the whole weekend.

* * *

><p>Wednesday came, and Grimmjow felt a strong urge to just skip Cifer's class. It was bad enough to see the man every day in the building, to see his velvet black car parked outside in the street, and the light of his apartment glowing until late hours every night. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to just leave the school for a couple hours and go to the arcade with Nnoitra.<p>

Cifer was perfectly on time, as usual. This time, he only took out a single book from his briefcase. A _huge_ single book. Grimmjow asked himself why he had decided to stay to the one class that promised no more than endless boredom with the last person he wanted to see standing right in front of him.

"As I told you last Wednesday, there was no written literature before the introduction of the Chinese writing. But as of the eighth century, year 712, we find this piece." he lifted the gigantic book. "The _Kojiki_ is not only one of the most antique Japanese literary pieces, but it is the most ancient History book we possess. It contains songs, poems, myths, legends and genealogical stories of the ancient Japan…"

Grimmjow's attention drifted away. Seriously, who cared about a bunch of old papers? If he'd have to read them, let them burn for all he cared.

Cifer dropped the booked loudly on the wooden table, and Grimmjow wondered if it had been on purpose.

"Because this is such an important text to the past and the present of our country, our culture and our artistic maniphestations, you will have to read all of it. You have until next Friday."

The students whined in protest. Grimmjow's eyes widened. Was that guy for real? That book was huge! Did he really expect them to read it in less than two weeks? Grimmjow was sure he hadn't read so many pages in all of his life. Oh well. He wouldn't read it, end of story. He didn't really care after all.

* * *

><p>Thursday night, Grimmjow arrived late at home. He was a bit miffed for some reason he really didn't know, so he told Nnoitra they should put fire to fox-face's papers. It didn't go as well as they hoped, since Ichimaru-sensei just stared at the flames, gave a wide grin and sang "I dun have paperwork anymo~ore" as he just left the papers to burn. Nnoitra had then asked him to help him pick a second-hand car, which he planned to buy with some bucks he got… somewhere. Nobody knew the source of Nnoitra's income and nobody asked. It was better that way.<p>

As he pushed the key into the keyhole, he noticed the next door opening and a green-eyed man coming out of the apartment with annoyance written over his normally expressionless face.

"What? Got some bitch whinin' for attention?"

Cifer ignored the comment and closed the door behind him, leaving it unlocked.

"Good evening, Jaegerjaquez. It would seem that I left my cellphone in the car and I have to retrieve it."

Grimmjow rolled his eyes with boredom. There was no point in bugging him if the guy didn't get pissed. He was about to lock himself in his apartment when he heard that low, deep voice calling out for him.

"Have you started reading yet, Jaegerjaquez?"

The teen frowned. The fuck was that freak talking about? Ah! that huge book he brought to class the other day. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"'Course not! Ya really think I'd waste my time reading that old crap? 'Sides, why do ya even care? Betcha'll love to write a huge "fail" mark next to my name before ya leave."

Cifer's expression remained unchanged and he dug his hands in his pockets.

"Why would I find any pleasure in watching you fail? If my students fail, it means I have failed as a teacher."

Grimmjow wasn't quite sure of what those words meant, but something inside him cracked as he watched the raven-haired man walk away.

* * *

><p>How his feet had led him to the school library, he didn't know. Why was he carrying a huge, heavy book, he had no idea. But he felt it was a bit too late to go back now.<p>

As he approached the counter, the librarian sent him a bewildered look.

"I wanna borrow this book." he sputtered, blushing as the words left his mouth.

The woman frowned.

"You, Jaegerjaquez? You want to borrow a book? I'm afraid that won't happen. You have been banned from this library three times. The last time we let you touch one of our books, you vandalized it. Oh, you're definitely not taking a book to your house."

She tried to snatch the book away from Grimmjow's grasp, but he backed away from the counter, growling angrily.

"The fuck's wrong with you bitch? I'm finally trying to read somethin' and ya won't let me?"

Grimmjow snarled, clutching the book close to his chest. Now he didn't care about anything else, he just wanted to take the book to piss off that bitch.

The woman gave him a questioning look and raised a fine eyebrow. She tapped her chin thoughtfully and finally sighed, taking out the library's stamp. She extended her hand towards him with a defeated look on her face.

"This will be your last chance, Jaegerjaquez. Return it integrally next Friday or I will see to it that you never touch a book again."

Grimmjow smirked as he took the book from her and hid it in his bag. Nnoitra would never let him hear the end of it if he saw he had a _book_ with him.

* * *

><p>He had declined Nnoitra's offer to go drinking tonight. Instead, he had decided to stay home and read the stupid book to prove Cifer that there was nothing great about it. That it was just a big boring book like all the others, and he intended to say so in the class. Though he'd probably fall asleep within the first page anyway.<p>

As his eyes glided through the characters, his hold on the book tightened.

* * *

><p>"Oi, ya stayin' fer Emo's class taday again? Haven't seen ya skip even one of those. Ya like watchin'im and havin' dirty thoughts?"<p>

Friday morning found Grimmjow with sleepy eyes and Nnoitra trying to annoy the hell out of him again. When had his life become this load of crap?

The class fell into silence as the substitute teacher came through the door, perfectly on time as always, carrying the same huge book he had brought last Wednesday.

"Good morning. As of today you should all have read the _Kojiki_…" he stopped mid-sentence, his eyes scanning over the terrified looks of his students "Now please, raise your hands if you finished reading the book."

Only two people raised their hands. Obviously, die-hard nerds, Pink Freak and his boyfriend Four-eyes.

"Please, raise your hand if you started to read the book, even if you could not finish it."

At first, nobody raised their hands, a bit startled by the question. Then, slowly, one, two, three hands started to rise. As if encouraged by their brave classmates, more students raised their hands to the air. After a couple of minutes, Cifer counted eighteen hands in total, out of the twenty-five students present. He nodded slowly.

"That is good enough. Truthfully, I did not expect you to finish reading the _Kojiki_ in such a short time. It is an ancient book, with a complicated style. But I wanted you to at least get a taste of it, to get to know the book that tells the story of the birth of Japan. I am glad to see that most of you did try to approach it. It means I can go on with the class as I had planned it."

The students exchanged terrified looks. What kind of activity had Cifer planned for them? A test? They were certainly not ready for it. Maybe he wanted a report? More than one of them looked ready to mess their pants on the spot.

"I do not believe that tests or reports are the best way to understand Literature. You can easily answer a test from reading summary. A report can be downloaded from the internet. As such, I prefer that you tell your impressions of the book, right here. It can become an open dialogue between me and all of you, if you want to see it like that, and listening to others' opinions can help you find new perspectives to the reading that you may not have found on your own. Anyone is free to speak now."

The class stayed silent. It was the first time since he had come to the school that Cifer asked for them to speak, and nobody dared say the first word. In spite of his young age, in the short time he had been in Karakura High, the substitute teacher had proved to be quite knowledgeable, and incredibly intimidating. Everyone was scared to say something stupid and get scolded for their "incurable ignorance".

Not knowing what had possessed him, Grimmjow raised his hand. He hadn't even finished the stupid book. Cifer simply looked at him impassively, waiting for him to continue.

Without thinking, the words just started coming out of his mouth. When he heard them, he could hardly believe such elaborate thought had come from him. But he was even more surprised when he saw the tiny hint of a smile curving the substitute's lips.

* * *

><p>Grimmjow had really been looking forward to one of Nnoitra's crazy parties, to drink himself stupid or something like that. Trust Nnoitra to choose this Friday to take off with his girlfriend for the weekend. So now the teen was stuck by himself in his tiny apartment, with virtually nothing to do.<p>

People would not imagine that a seventeen-year-old teen would be living on his own, but he did. Normally, on any other Friday night, he would be playing videogames, but he only had one game (he didn't have money to buy another one), and he was now bored of it. He would also watch porn movies that he would borrow from Nnoitra. But the older male was out of town now and watching the same movie twice felt just wrong.

Grimmjow was fucking bored. He wished he at least had that book he had been reading, it was kinda cool and he hadn't finished it, but he'd had to give it back to the librarian that afternoon. That bitch had frowned when she found that the book was in perfect condition, Ha! Grimmjow was sure she wanted to…

He stopped mid thought. Had he just wished he had a fucking book to read? He banged his head against the table. He must be losing his mind.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock on his wooden door. He rushed to open, ready to scream bloody murder to whoever dared bother him at such late hours, when he was so busy wondering what was wrong with his brain. But he was left speechless when he was met with a pair of deep green eyes.

"Forgive me for bothering you at such hours. It would seem there is a problem with the electricity at my apartment and the power has shut down. I have contacted the administrator and it should be fixed within a couple of hours, but I need to send a report to the headmaster before midnight. Could I connect my laptop here so that I can finish my work? It will not take long."

* * *

><p>Grimmjow's eyes were glued to the pale hands that flashed across the keyboard as fast as light. Was this guy for real? He was sitting in front of the laptop, his back completely straight, his eyes fixed to the screen. He looked like one of those office freaks living in a tiny cubicle 24 hours a day. A total creep.<p>

"Oi, if ya got yer laptop, why didja need to be here in the first place?"

Cifer didn't take his eyes away from the screen or even stop typing to answer.

"I ran out of battery. I did not plug it in just for entertainment."

Grimmjow muttered a simple 'Huh' and the conversation died there. It was as if the guy killed the mood wherever he was. Grimmjow was sitting on the other side of the low coffee table where the laptop was sitting, his elbow resting on the wooden surface, his cheek laying on his open palm.

"Hey, what're you s'pposed to write on that report?"

Again, green eyes stayed fixed to the screen.

"A short synthesis of my work throughout the week among the different classes, the progress I have made with the students and how far along the program I am. The headmaster usually expects around ten pages to be sent per week."

"'N ya gotta send'em before midnight? Ya sure ya gonna make it?"

When Cifer answered, he did it in a cold, clear, deadly tone, and his fingers stopped midtrack in their frenetic dance through the letters on the keyboard.

"I _always_ meet my deadlines."

Scary.

Thus, the conversation died once again and was replaced by the swift sound of the teacher hitting the keys at inhuman speed. The younger male had already given up on trying to follow those pale fingers; he had started to feel dizzy after trying too hard.

"And…" Grimmjow had to light up some conversation or he'd die from boredom " what's a guy like you doin' in a little town like Karakura? Ya look like a city dude."

"My personal information is none of your concern."

Grimmjow was about to hit the table in frustration. Was this really a way to spend a Friday night? Stuck in his apartment with his creepy teacher who wouldn't even talk to him?

"Demophobia"

Grimmjow blinked in confusion.

"I suffer from a variation of demophobia, I can not stand to be surrounded by large crowds or big groups of people. Sometimes I felt suffocated when in these situations. I first thought it would disappear with time, but it just got worse. I was born in Tokyo, one of the most crowded cities in the world. My psychiatrist suggested that I moved to a smaller town. An acquaintance of mine happens to work in Karakura High and recommended me to take Tosen-sensei's position temporarily. That way, the headmaster solved the problem of covering Tosen-sensei's class, and I have time to find a more permanent job."

The tone of his voice made it clear that he was done talking about himself. Grimmjow's lips quirked into a half smirk. Well, that was something, at least. He noticed the man had an odd tendency to refuse answering personal questions, just to give said answers immediately. Such a weird guy.

"What about you?"

Grimmjow yelped, the question catching him by surprise, and managed a stutter as a response.

"You are obviously living on your own, in spite of your age, and it is quite obvious that nobody but you ever steps into this place. Why is that?"

The teen took a sip of the coke he was drinking. His eyes scanned the tiny living room, remembering the first time he'd come to this place after receiving the keys and he smiled softly for a second. His previous smirk returned to his face as he turned back to look at Cifer, who was still working quietly.

"Well, it's not as exciting as it may seem. I'm the oldest of five, I got four younger sisters. 'S not like my life's all shitty 'n stuff, I just had to share my room with the youngest, she's eleven 'n she's a pain in the ass, she liked to kick my balls in the mornin' to wake me up! So I asked Mom and Dad to let me have the guest room, but yanno' they said 'the point of a guest room is that it's available in case we have guests'. So I told'em I'd run away if I didn't get my own room. They said I was stupid, (I reckon I was) and Dad gave me the key to this place. It's the apartment he lived in when he was in College. Mom and Dad pay for my daily basics: Electricity, gas, food, 'n stuff. And the phone so that I can call'em once a week. But everythin' else's on me. I'm too lazy to work, so I just take small jobs on weekends to pay for booze or pizza 'n that stuff. Mom let me bring my things from home, my clothes, magazines 'n shit but they said they had paid for the videogames with their money and they were 'family property' so I couldn't bring'em. The furniture and TV were already here 'n I don't have to pay any bills. But I can't afford a cellphone, my computer stayed home ('family property'). That's been my life for the past year. 'S cool 'coz I can do whatever I want, but there ain't much to do without any bucks."

Cifer saved the finished document and gazed at the loud teen from the corner of his eyes, intrigued by such a strange story. Said teen caught his gaze and his smirk widened, if that was even possible.

"What? Not what you expected? People tend to think that I ran away from home, or crazier things like my parents kicked me out of my house. Some even think I killed them." he grimaced at the thought. "It would totally kill my image if everyone knew my Mom still pays my bills, wouldn't it?"

The teacher stayed quiet as he pressed the send button and, almost immediately, shut the computer, three minutes before midnight. He unplugged the machine and rose from the floor, walking towards the front door, almost ignoring his host.

"Oi, wait! Ya leavin' already?"

It wasn't until then that Cifer seemed to remember that he was in somebody else's house, and he turned to look at Grimmjow, his hand already on the doorknob.

"I already finished what I had to do; I have no need to stay here anymore. I appreciate your hospitality."

Grimmjow caught himself holding the door on its place. He had no idea of why he wanted the other man to stay, but now that the idea was fixed in his mind, he was not letting go of it.

"Wait a sec! I mean… yer place's still dark, right?"

A nod.

"It'll probably take a couple more hours for the technician to fix it. I know the dude, he's really lazy. And he's probably callin' a hotline at this time of the night, I don't think it'll be done in less than two or three more hours, what'cha gonna do in the dark all that time?"

"I do not depend on modern technology and computers to entertain myself. I prefer to read."

Grimmjow gave him a cocky grin.

"Ya need light to read, Mr. Caveman."

* * *

><p>Somehow, he had ended playing Scrabble with his stuck-up teacher. The guy said he didn't like videogames, and there was nothing on the TV. Why had he even suggested that stupid game? He didn't even know it was there. He had been rumagging through his father's dusty boardgames closet and found the old box, along with a Monopoly (boring!) and a poker set (he didn't even <em>know<em> how to play poker). And of course, Cifer had to be a freakin' bookworm, and kept coming up with words like "wafture" and "subsidy". Seriously, who uses that kind of words?

Bottom line: Cifer was royally kicking his butt. What was he expecting? The dude taught fuckin' literature! Of course he knew a lot of big words. Still, he hated to lose.

The substitute's deep voice broke his train of thought.

"You did not finish reading the _Kojiki_, did you?"

Grimmjow rose his eyes from his crappy game (he was totally sure 'glabk' was not a word) to meet his teacher's green orbs.

"Nah. I had to return the book to the library today. That bitch wouldn't let me keep it for one more second if her life depended on it. Ah, fuck it. Yer turn"

The raven-head eyed the new word 'bag' and said nothing else as he placed his own word 'fallacy' linked to it, watching with the tiniest of smiles as the blue-eyed teen scowled angrily.

* * *

><p>Time had past by so quickly he hadn't noticed it was already four in the morning until the emerald-eyed teacher announced that he could see light coming from his apartment's windows, and that he should be heading home. Grimmjow almost yelped when he saw the numbers on the digital clock hanging by the door when he walked Cifer outside.<p>

The other man thanked him and left towards his apartment. Oddly, Grimmjow found himself following him, for no apparent reason. Cifer eyed him questioningly as he opened the door and let himself in.

"Yes?"

Grimmjow was at a loss for words. Because he had really no idea of why he had followed the other man. The pale man sighed softly and took a step back as if letting him in. The teen was dubious at first (a teacher inviting his teenage student to his apartment at four in the morning? Horror movie clichè!) but he finally walked inside, without closing the door (he needed an escape route, just in case).

He followed the other man to the living room, without paying much attention to his surroundings. That was until he saw the place he was led to. Asides from being about the same size as his own living room, the freaking walls were completely covered by bookshelves, which of course, were at full capacity. Grimmjow gaped. He was pretty sure he had never seen so many books in all of his life.

Cifer's deep voice broke the silence. Grimmjow nearly jumped; he had never been to a place where people could speak while being surrounded by so many books

"If you want to, you can borrow anything from here. Of course, you have to give it back integrally as soon as you are done with it."

Grimmjow looked at him in shock. He stayed fixed to his spot, not daring to move for what seemed like an eternity until the young teacher nodded his head towards the apparently endless book collection. The teen took a hesitant step towards the shelf and his eyes roamed through the titles with curiosity, not really knowing what had taken over him that made him actually consider reading one of those huge volumes. But damnit, he had been craving for something to read since he had given that stupid book back and he had a once in a lifetime opportunity in front of him, so he pushed his doubts to the back of his mind until his eyes met a book that called his attention.

His fingers itched to pull the _Kojiki_ out from the shelf. He'd had an empty feeling in his stomach for not being able to finish the stupid book. He had really enjoyed reading it. The stories of adventure, blood, love and betrayal had completely captured him. But he'd feel like a freakin' nerd if he picked an old history book, so he regrettably passed it and kept searching.

He finally found another book that made him stop in his search, but he didn't dare touch it, so he simply stood there, staring at the spine.

"Poe has always been a personal favorite of mine."

Grimmjow yelped. Was that guy trying to scare the living shit out of him? As he tried to recompose himself, he took a second look at the book _Tales of Mystery and Imagination_, still hesitating whether he should take it or stick to his old videogame for the hundredth time.

"If you are interested, take it. I believe it is the kind of reading you would enjoy. After all, Poe is most famous for his macabre tales."

He didn't understand half of what the teacher said, but he felt slightly encouraged by the man's deep voice, completely lacking emotion, and he finally managed to pull out the thick book. He examined the leather cover with silver letters, kept in impeccable condition in spite of its aged appearance.

"Thanks, I'll bring it back soon."

Cifer didn't reply. He simply nodded, his emerald eyes gazing into space absentmindedly. Grimmjow wanted to say something else, to do something else, but he didn't know what. He stared at the smaller figure, a feeling akin to longing gurgling in his chest. Scared about it, he simply stepped back and left the room.

* * *

><p>Grimmjow was so freaked out about the events of last Friday that he didn't dare show up at school on Wednesday for Cifer's next class. He spent all day pacing around his apartment or reading that awesome book he had borrowed from the petite man (Cifer was right, it really was the kind of book he liked, and he was nearly done with it already).<p>

By five o'clock he felt like a caged cat, so he decided to leave the building and try to find something, _anything_ to do, that would take his mind away from all the weird things that had happened that night and the horrible feeling that haunted him for skipping that stupid class. If worse came to worst, he would even be willing to pay a visit to his parents' home, which he hadn't done since he'd left the house.

Leave it to him to choose the worst moment to get out of the apartment. The moment he crossed the door, he was met with a pair of clear emerald eyes, which appeared to be unfazed by his presence.

"I did not see you in class today."

Crap. Of all the people, why did Cifer feel the need to confront him about it? Were it any other teacher, he wouldn't give a damn. Bur for some reason, he felt ridiculously guilty for missing the pale man's class.

"Yeah… Didn' feel like gettin' up from bed today."

Lies.

"Hmm. Well, that is your decision, and whatever consequences there may be will be yours to assume. I suppose you know I can not fill you in about the details of the class. If you want to catch up, you will have to ask your classmates."

Grimmjow cocked his head to the side, thoroughly confused. Firstly, because he had not requested for any information about the class, and secondly, because he didn't know why the substitute wouldn't give it to him if he asked for it. And now that it was denied to him, he felt like he wanted it, even if he hadn't been interested in it to begin with.

Cifer noticed the questioning look in Grimmjow's face and sighed.

"Just because we are neighbours, it does not mean I will give you any special treatment. For school-related topics, our relationship remains the one of a teacher and a student and I have to treat you the same as I do your classmates."

Grimmjow still looked at the teacher, puzzled by the man's logic, which he found odd and hard to understand. How could he tell the difference between their "neighbour relantionship" and their "school relationship"? They were both the same for Grimmjow. He then frowned. Who would he ask about the class he'd missed? Nnoitra? He probably skipped it too. And he didn't really get along with anyone else in the class. Damn.

The substitute rubbed his temple for a moment, as if he were deep in thought, and finally reached inside his briefcase.

"Read from pages sixteen to thirty-four." he said as he handed him a small book with a beautiful painting on the cover. "The rest you will have to find out on your own."

* * *

><p>An uneventful week went by. Grimmjow kept going to Cifer's class, and they still met in the hallways of their building, but they simply exchanged the basic pleasantries. It was as if nothing had gone out of place that quirky Friday, that now seemed almost distant.<p>

It was Friday again, and Grimmjow had, for whatever weird reason, turned down Nnoitra's invitation to go to the arcade after school. So he was now entering the building and readying himself to confront Cifer to give back the book he had borrowed (which he had finished nearly a week ago, but he hadn't had the guts to face the emerald-eyed man).

As always, luck was not on his side, and he didn't have time to get ready at all, since said man was just unlocking the door to his apartment. Grimmjow froze, forgetting what he had planned to say to begin with.

"Good afternoon, Jaegerjaquez."

He blinked, trying to form a coherent thought so that he wouldn't look like an idiot.

"Uuuh… Hi."

Riiiight, that went well.

Cifer had finally managed to open the door, and was about to disappear behind it, when Grimmjow managed to pull himself together.

"Oi! Wait! I wanted to give this back." He pulled Poe's book from his schoolbag and shoved it into the green-eyed man's hands. "Uhh… thanks, I guess. I did kinda like it."

The teacher nodded softly and made a quick inspection of the book. He then took a short glance at Grimmjow, seemingly deep in thought. He made a sign for the teen to wait outside, and disappeared into the appartment.

_Darn, and I was about to run for the hills._

He came back quickly, carrying a different book, which he offered to Grimmjow.

"Here, you can take this one. I suppose you will want to know how it ends."

Grimmjow glanced at the book and stared with awe at the beautiful painting on the cover and the elegant white characters that gave out the name of the book: _Kojiki_.

"U-uhm… thanks but I uhm… I don't think I should take it. I'm not sure of when I could bring it back to ya an'-"

"Jaegerjaquez," he was abruptly interrupted "I am not lending you this book. I am giving it to you as a gift."

If he was dumbfounded before, now he simply didn't know how to react. He still couldn't dare to touch the book. Cifer's version was much more beautiful than the one they had in the library. He wanted to snatch it away from the teacher's pale fingers, and at the same time, he felt too scared to move.

"O-oi, wait a minute! What happened to that 'Teacher-student' relationship or whatever shit?"

The man quirked a thick black eyebrow.

"I am giving it to you as your neighbour. I think it is clear enough. Do not put up so many objections or I might believe you do not want it."

Finally Grimmjow took the book, not without a bit of hesitation. A small grin appeared on his lips without him noticing as he tucked the book under his arm.

"Hey, by the way, I have no plans for tonight and I've got some leftover pizza, wanna join me? We can even play that stupid Scrabble or whatever." He suddenly blurted, not really knowing what he was saying or why he was saying it.

Cifer seemed to be initially surprised by the invitation, but he immediately composed himself and frowned slightly.

"Did I not tell you already? As your teacher, our relationship is to stay as a purely professional one."

Grimmjow smirked.

"Oh, but I'm not inviting ya as my teacher. I thought it was pretty obvious that I was inviting ya as my _neighbour._ After all, it's imporant to be nice to yer neighbours, isn't it?"

The raven-haired man's lips quirked upwards in the tiniest of smirks and he shook his head. He had a feeling this student was going to be the death of him.

**To be continued.**

Thank you, really thank you to Tokyo Kitty for beta'ing this and for putting up with all my crap (I seriously asked her to revise it twice because I'm freaky like that)

Anyway this is yes, you guessed it, another cliché school romance AU. So LOL again at my originality. Blame me for thinking teacherUlqui looks incredibly sexy in the imaginary teacheroutfit I well… uh… imagined. Sorry, it's in my head and I suck balls at drawing so it's staying there, come up with your own sexyteacherUlqui

There's lots of shit to say about this, firstly I didn't want to write Grimm's haiku because well duh, I don't know shit about writing haiku and I'd feel like I insult anyone who does if I attempted at writing a fail!Haiku of my own. As a funny fact I did indeed read the _Kojiki_ a couple of months before I wrote this for a school assignment and it is a really cool book. It's Japanese mythology-history told in poetic narrative and it's stupidly hard to understand (heck, I didn't get half of it). I don't recommend it unless you're a historyfag like me.

Another book mentioned here, and the one that gives the title to the story is Edgar Allan Poe's _Tales of Mystery and Imagination_, and it's one of my favorite books of all time. As you can see, the chapter titles are going to be named after Poe's _Tales_, this one is The raven for well, Ulqui and his raven hair.

Lastly, Akutagawa's _Jigoku-hen_ (Hell Screen). I hadn't actually read the book when I wrote this (8 months ago) but I have now and it's a mindfucking awesome tale. The interesting thing about this is that the story was adapted into anime in episodes 11-12 of the Aoi Bungaku anime, and the character design was done by Tite Kubo. Not only that, but the King is voiced by Daisuke Namikawa (my favorite seiyuu) who is also Ulquiorra's voice actor. So I thought it'd be a nice touch to add this book here. The particular cover I describe here actually exists, I searched for it in Amazon and it's pretty creepy.

On a final note (my notes are too long WTF) Yes, Scrabble. I LOVE Scrabble. It's the only boardgame I'm actually good at. As for the words Ulquiorra uses here, I googled 7-letter-words, I'm not that wordy. I also think it's the kind of game Ulquiorra would play as a well… Literature teacher.

And after this gigantic author notes, I hope you enjoy the story, it's only three chapters long but I still hope you like it and that you'll spare me a read and a review of course, I'll always love reading your thoughts and I always hope to know how I can improve.


	2. Chapter 2 The Man of the Crowd

**Tales of Imagination**

**Chapter 2 The Man of the Crowd**

A couple of months had gone by and things surely had changed in Grimmjow's life. His Fridays were no longer spent drinking bad quality booze in Nnoitra's house (seriously, where did that guy buy that crap he drank all the time?), but rather playing Scrabble with his substitute Japanese Literature teacher Ulquiorra Cifer. Mind you, he still lost miserably, but he was kind of starting to learn some words too.

It had also become a habit of his to visit the raven head's house from time to time to borrow random books. Some of them he enjoyed, some of them he found boring as fuck, some of them were super crappy. On some occassions, the teacher would offer to help him with his school assignments, as long as they were not from Literature class, as that would overstep the boundaries between the 'neighbour relationship' and their 'teacher-student' relationship.

"Ha! Eat this!" Grimmjow smirked triumphantly as he placed the word 'devour' on the board.

As always, the emerald-eyed man said nothing as he arranged his letters to form the word 'fellony'. The teen scowled. There was just no way he would beat the man in this game.

"Oi, let's do somethin' else. We always play this shit, it's getting' kinda old, don'ya think?"

The teacher quirked an eyebrow.

"What do you suggest?"

It had become a routine. Ulquiorra Cifer was a routinary man. He liked schedules. He liked knowing what was going to happen before it happened. He liked to have a plan. And so, he was always on time. Because he had to follow the plan.

When the boisterous teen had first invited him to spend the evening with him, it had been out of the schedule; out of the plan. The plan was to read until his eyes felt too tired to recognize the characters on the pages, and then go to sleep. But Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez had altered the plan. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez had made a whole new plan, a new schedule, a new routine. And Ulquiorra had somehow gotten used to it.

"Uhh… dunno… Like videogames? Though I still got only one. But no one beats Halo!"

Ulquiorra was about to roll his eyes. Playing Scrabble with Grimmjow every Friday was now part of his routine. He didn't want to change it. And playing videogames was not a favourite hobby of his. While he had had consoles when he was a kid, they had never drawn his interest. He had always been one for books and mindgames.

"Next week, shall we? It is almost three in the morning anyway. Let's at least finish this round before I go back to my place."

Grimmjow furrowed his brow, knowing the battle was lost and glancing at his letters. Ah, who cared. He was going to lose anyway. But he still felt he wanted to get the highest score he could, just to prove Cifer that he was getting better. Why he felt the need to do so, he wasn't sure.

He placed the word 'amuse', feeling satisfied, since he didn't even know how to use that word a couple of weeks ago.

Ulquiorra was a bit annoying for an opponent, since he rarely said a word while they played, except for the occasional small talk, or when he asked Grimmjow about the latest book he'd borrowed from the teacher's house. This time was no exception, the man stayed deathly quiet while he examined the game, his eyes going back and forth from the board to his letters, to the board again. Finally, he added the letters m, e, n, t to Grimmjow's word, writing 'amusement' and hitting a triple score box.

Grimmjow sighed. Playing Scrabble against Ulquiorra was like playing against a fucking dictionary.

* * *

><p>"Oi, Ulquiorra! Oi! OI!"<p>

Ulquiorra finally stopped on his tracks as he walked towards the school exit. He turned around to meet face to face with the loud blue-haired teen who was struggling to get through the crowded hallways to reach the tall red doors.

"I have told you countless times that you should not call me by my given name. Especially while at school"

Grimmjow shrugged it off as he caught his breath after all that yelling.

"Yeah, whatever. I'll call ya whatever ya want, but can ya give me ride? I crashed my bike this morning and it kinda… died. Please?"

Ulquiorra felt slightly amused by the student's choice of words, but that didn't alter his decision.

"Jaegerjaquez, you know I am your teacher. I can not do this kind of things for you. You will have to take the bus."

The teen's face fell in disappointment after hearing the teacher's negative. He felt slightly guilty for abandoning the kid, but he knew that fool was old enough to take care of himself. And more importantly, it would do no good if anyone saw the blue-haired student getting into his car. It would probably raise unwanted rumors, and the one thing Ulquiorra Cifer didn't want was to get a bad reputation.

He watched with a bit of pity as the boy carried the remnants of his destroyed bicycle on his shoulder towards the bus station and got inside his car.

* * *

><p>Grimmjow was sick of the bus. Stupid fucking bus. It had been nearly two weeks since his bike had been destroyed by that stupid tree. He knew he shouldn't have been reading while riding, but he was totally caught in Verne's <em>Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea<em>. And now he had to take the stupid dirty bus, that just happened to be packed of sweaty, smelly, disgusting people, crying children, idiotic giggling middle schoolers, huge fat guys, and a lot of more infuriating people. Or he could avoid the bus and waste forty-five minutes on the _walk_ home. He made fifteen minutes on his bike. Seriously. This was just plain stupid. And it would take him ages to save up enough money to repair his fucking bike. He was doomed to take the stinking bus for the rest of his life.

As he got inside the building, he noticed an object lying against his door. He was about to set it on fire. That would teach whoever left it there not to leave their crap on his way. But as he got closer, he recognized what it was. There was no mistake, even though it seemed a little different to how he remembered it. It was his bike, and it looked almost as if it had never been struck by a huge tree. Shiny, polished and completely reconstructed. He smiled. No more fucking bus!

As the initial euphoria wore off, he realized bikes did not repair themselves. Thus, someone had had to do it. Nnoitra? Never. He knew the douche enjoyed hearing his stories of how much he hated the fucking bus. His parents? Nope. His mom had said she would not pay for his lack of attention. That only left one option (which made Grimmjow sadly realize how few close friends he really had. His life was really fucked up).

He knocked on the apartment number four, fidgeting a little. He really didn't want to do this, he felt incredibly stupid right now, but he knew he had to.

The young teacher appeared behind the door with his usual unemotional face. His eyes glanced from the bicycle to the student's face and he seemed to understand the situation, as he simply dug his hands into his pockets, waiting for Grimmjow to speak.

"Uhm… hi."

Yes, Grimmjow was brilliant with these things.

Ulquiorra still said nothing, slightly amused by the teen's struggle, and patiently waiting for him to find a more refined way to express himself. Not that he expected much refinement from Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.

"Well, I just came back an' found this in my doorstep an' yanno'… I just wanted to say thanks… uhm… I still don't know why ya did it, but uh… thanks."

The boy pointed at the bicycle he held next to him, still fidgeting nervously and waiting for the green-eyed man to aknowledge his presence so that he could disappear as soon as possible.

"I have no idea of what you are talking about."

If Grimmjow hadn't known better, he would've believed that. What with the teacher's death serious voice and his pale face completely lacking emotion, it was hard to believe he was lying through his teeth. But Grimmjow knew better.

"The fuck's that mean? Don't think I'm gonna buy that shit!"

"Could you please stop yelling? I am standing just a few inches away."

"I'll yell what I want to! I mean, ya even have them change the seat! Yellow? For fuck's sake!"

"The seat I added was green."

Grimmjow pointed at him accusingly.

"Ha! Gotcha'! You just admitted you did it!"

Ulquiorra crossed his arms over his chest and sighed.

"I never said I didn't. I just said I did not know why you were thanking me. I did it because I wanted to, I do not expect any gratefulness or retribution, that is all."

Grimmjow wanted to slam his face against the wall. Leave it to Ulquiorra to turn every one of his words against him. He could be so creepy and infuriating when he got into those word-games of his. Still, he knew arguing was useless. In fact, the more he spoke, the more he exposed himself to be humiliated by that smartass.

"W-well, whatever! I don't care if ya don't want my thanks, 'coz I'm thanking ya anyway! S-so thank ya and… and that's it!"

And he stormed off and disappeared behind his own door, a deep crimson blush adorning his cheeks.

* * *

><p>It seemed like a normal day, with Christmas break drawing closer every minute. Grimmjow was about to leave school and probably go to Nnoitra's house (he really didn't have much social life apart from that) to play some videogames. But as he walked down the hallway, he noticed loud noises coming from the teachers' lounge, and he saw Ulquiorra walking out of the room with his usual calm expression. That was absolutetly normal. What was out of Grimmjow's expectations was to see Ichimaru-sensei soon catching up with him and flailing his arm over the thin man's shoulder, his trademark grin plastered over his fox-like face.<p>

"C'mon Ulqui-chan! 's yer birthday! Ya can't run away from yer birthday! We even got'cha a big party! C'mon le's go back inside!"

Ulquiorra unlatched himself from Ichimaru's hold and kept walking with his hands dug inside his pocket.

"I appreciate your gesture, Ichimaru-sensei, but I have to prepare tomorrow's classes and grade some assignments. Please excuse me with everyone else."

"Awww yer no fun…" Ichimaru whined as he walked back to the teachers' lounge.

Grimmjow watched the whole scene unfold with wide eyes.

"Sorry Nnoitra, I forgot I got some stuff to do"

Nnoitra clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Ya shittin' me. Ya always have 'stuff ta do' on Fridays since Emo-bitch came aroun', an' now yer ditchin' me on a fuckin' Wednesday? Are ya at least fuckin' him er sumthin'? Ah, whatever, I'll call Nel instead."

Grimmjow paid him no mind and rushed out of the building, mounted his bicycle and took off in the opposite direction of his apartment.

* * *

><p>"Yes, thank you… I know, I will try… Forgive me, I have to leave you, someone is knocking on the door... Goodbye Mom."<p>

Ulquiorra opened the door, exasperatedly. Granted, what he had told Ichimaru had been a mere excuse to escape from his party (he was not really a party person), but he was starting to tire of getting calls after calls from people, mostly his old acquaintances from Tokyo, to congratulate him for his birthday. He understood and appreciated his mother's call, but the other ten? He didn't even talk to those people anymore. And all he really wanted for his birthday was some peace and quiet so that he could read.

He was surprised to be met with a familiar pair of sapphire blue eyes and striking electric blue hair. The owner of said features blushed crimson when his gaze met Ulquiorra's, and his eyes averted to the ceiling, trying to avoid the teacher's calm stare.

"Uhm… hi."

Ulquiorra was starting to get used to this. He waited quietly, knowing the teen would find more eloquent words at some point. He found it funny how the boy seemed so uneasy when talking to him on a daily basis, yet he was so laid back and bold during their routinary meetings every Friday.

"So… I kinda heard today was your birthday…"

The teacher quirked an eyebrow. He had seen the student when leaving from Ichimaru's noisy party, but hadn't imagined that he would have overheard their conversation.

"And well… Happy Birthday! Or something like that, I guess… Uh… I… got you somethin'."

Ulquiorra took the clumsily wrapped present, feeling some sort of endearment towards the teen for the sweet gesture. The object was covered in multiple layers of green paper and there was a small, pre-made silver bow on the corner. It was clear that the student had wrapped the gift in some sort of rush, and the vision of the already impatient and clumsy Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez fighting with layer after layer of wrapping-paper drew a small smile on Ulquiorra's lips.

He unwrapped the present as carefully as he could, trying not to break the amateur wrapping too much. As he finally got through the last layer of green paper, he found a thin book with an ash color cover and an odd, devilish-looking black creature standing all over it. The title was written in black strokes next to the creature, whose playful, evil smirk could terrify the most daring man.

"Akutawa Ryuunosuke's _Jigokuhen_. Who told you I like classic Japanese Literature?"

"I figured. Ya _teach_ that stuff yanno'? 'Sides, ya got a lot of books like that."

"And how do you know I don't have it already?"

Grimmjow scratched the back of his head for a second and clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"I've been to yer library lots of times, I got a decent idea of what ya got in there."

Ulquiorra gave a second glance at the book, wondering just how well did this teen know him, but decided to ignore his concerns for the time being.

"Come inside. Shihoin-sensei gave me a cake and I doubt I will be able to eat it on my own."

* * *

><p>Ulquiorra made a mental note. Never ever let Grimmjow pick the movie again. Even better. Never ever accept to change their routinary Scrabble game for a rented movie. Zombie movies were just boring. He was starting to doze off while the people on the screen cried for their lives or screamed when one of those disgusting monsters came to devour their brains. So clichèd. He took a sideways glance at his blue-haired neighbourstudent and couldn't stop the tiny smile from drawing itself on his lips when he saw the teen laughing at the poor innocent people being devoured on the screen. Teens these days were so twisted, he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Emerald eyes fluttered open as the first specks of sunlight made it past their eyelids. As the initial confusion disappeared, Ulquiorra started to wonder where he was, as it was very clear he was not in his house, and how he had gotten there. Memories of the previous night started to return to him, and he remembered falling asleep on Grimmjow's couch, watching that absurd movie. Then why was he lying down in a foreign bed, as if someone else had tucked him in, making sure he was properly covered so that he would not be cold? Had Grimmjow carried him all the way from the living room to the bedroom while he was asleep? And where was Grimmjow now?<p>

Ulquiorra got up, noticing the clothes he had been wearing were now crumpled from having slept with them, which made him frown. He arranged the bed and walked out of the room into the living room, where the first thing that caught his eye was the blurr of blue hair, and its owner sleeping soundly on the couch. So the teen had really given up the bed for him and settled for staying in the cold living room. He should have just woken him up so that he could go to his own place instead of going through all that trouble. He felt like he was the child here, and not the other way around.

As he covered the teen with a blanket, he knew he had to do something to repay him. He sighed as he pulled his coat closer to his body. Winter was really coming fast.

Grimmjow woke up to the warm sweet scent of home-made food coming from the kitchen. He hadn't as much as touched anything from that kitchen, except for the microwave, ever since he had moved here, save for the rare occasions when his family came to visit and his father cooked. Still in a half-asleep state, his feet dragged him towards the smell, and he was met with a most curious scene.

There was the infamous Ulquiorra Cifer, one of the most terrifying teachers in Karakura High, wearing a baby blue apron with the words "Kiss the Cook", and holding a frying pan with one hand, a look of deep concentration imprinted in his face.

"Oi, what'ya doin'? And where d'ya get that thing?" he slurred trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes as he pointed at the apron.

Ulquiorra seemed unamused as he turned off the stove and lifted the pan, carrying it towards the counter and signaling for Grimmjow to follow him. On top of the counter there were two plates and a pair of mugs, already filled with steaming hot coffee, which Grimmjow gratefully took.

"I found it in _your_ kitchen, Jaegerjaquez." he pointed out as he served the contents of the frying pan into the plates dilligently, ignoring the teen's first question, as he found the answer pretty obvious. "And good morning." He added as he passed one of the plates to the teen.

"Ohi! Thmis ish gfoohhd!" the teen blurted, with his mouth full of pancakes.

Cifer rolled his eyes at the student's horrible table manners, but did not comment on it as he ate his own food quietly, trying to ignore just how homely the entire scene was.

* * *

><p>Grimmjow shut the door as Ulquiorra left the apartment. He leaned his back on the wooden surface and slid down to sit on the floor, covering his face with his hand.<p>

_Shit._

Everything was so messed up.

Why? Simple. Last night he had seen Ulquiorra fall asleep on the couch. At first he had thought of leaving the raven haired man there. But something inside him had moved him to carry his small teacher to the bedroom. He couldn't stop himself from noticing how light the man was.

He laid the sleeping man on the bed and tucked him in. It was, after all, a very cold night. He was about to leave when he stopped to watch the pale teacher sleep. He looked peaceful and delicate. Grimmjow didn't have time to notice his features when he was awake, because he was busier thinking of smart retorts to argue with the man. But now that Ulquiorra wasn't giving him a hard time, he could stop and admire his flawless milky skin, his lithe build, his pale face, framed by his rich messy raven locks, his dual-colored lips that seemed to be calling to him…

He did the only thing that seemed natural at the time. He leaned in and brushed his chapped lips against Ulquiorra's. It was only an instant. It was over before he knew it had happened. But it had. And he wanted more. And when that realization hit him, when the weight of what he had just done fell down on him, he covered his mouth with his hands, horrified, and dashed out of the room.

And now everything was really fucked up.

* * *

><p>Contrary to Grimmjow's apocalyptic thoughts, he had actually managed to act normally around the raven haired teacher for the next couple of days, in spite of the turmoil going on inside him. After some time had passed, he just came to forget the incident and everything went back to normal.<p>

"Hey, Ulquiorra! What're ya doin' for Christmas?"

Said man rolled his eyes. Today had been the last day of school before the winter break and they were having pizza and playing Chinese Checkers for a change (granted, Grimmjow didn't have what one would call 'exciting' boardgames).

"What have I told you about the use of my name? About your question, I have no plans for Christmas Eve, but I assume you will spend the night with your family."

Grimmjow grinned and took a bite from a slice of pizza, melted cheese dribbling down his chin in a disgusting fashion.

"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that. We're neighbours, aren't we? I'm not gonna go around callin' ya 'Cifer-sensei' when we're in the building, it'd be totally stupid."

_No it wouldn't_, Ulquiorra thought, but he knew it was a waste of time. He would forever regret pointing out the difference between the neighbour and the teacher-student relationship. The teen was always making the best out of it.

"Anyway, if ya don't have plans, ya can come over to dinner. Spending Christmas alone is the worst plan ever."

"What kind of nonsense are you blabbering about now?"

Grimmjow kept grinning as he moved one of his blue pieces across the gameboard. Oddly enough, he was not that bad in this game.

"Well, I think I never toldja, but Mom and Dad are both European, they came to Japan for college and then they met and married and shit. Somehow they stayed here but that doesn't matter. Point is they have this western thing of the big dinner and the turkey and the family and stuff. Ya already said ya got no plans so ya have no excuse to refuse right? Ya can come an' have dinner with us. I'll just tell'em to bring the stuff over. I don't really feel like goin' back yet."

Ulquiorra blinked perplexed a couple of times. Dinner with Grimmjow's family? Something at the back of his mind was telling him there was something wrong about having dinner with his _student's_ family, but his brain felt a bit too numb to figure out what it was. He was never one for parties, but he decided to give in. After all, he didn't have anything else to do on Christmas Eve.

* * *

><p>Of course that little voice had to come back right when Grimmjow's parents rang the bell to the apartment number six. He couldn't get it out of his mind, something felt incredibly wrong about this. Oh right.<p>

What would Grimmjow's family think when they knew their son spent every Friday night _playing_ with his Literature teacher?

But it was too late to run away. Grimmjow had already unlocked the door and Ulquiorra would have to face the angry parents and explain himself to the school board. And hope against all hopes that he would not lose his job, or even worse, face criminal charges for perversion or something along those lines.

He was about to warn Grimmjow to prevent him from saying things that would make him appear like a pervert, but he hadn't even opened his mouth when he heard the blue-haired teen yelp from the door and a pitch voice filling the room.

"THAT GOES FOR TAKING THE XBOX!"

"THE FUCK'S WRONG WITH YOU BRAT?"

Ulquiorra sighed. It was to be expected. This was, after all, Grimmjow's family.

Moments later, Grimmjow came to the dining room grabbing his crotch with a pained expression on his face, followed closely by a short girl with blond hair and pink eyes who was glaring at the teen's back.

That must be the youngest sister, Ulquiorra guessed, eyeing the curious position of Grimmjow's hands, and remembering those stories about the little girl with the odd habit of kicking the teen's private areas.

Behind them he saw three young girls, perhaps two or three years younger than Grimmjow, so different from each other as the night was from the day. One of them had chocolate-colored skin, green eyes and long wavy brown hair. She was bickering with her sister, who had short dark blue hair and dual-colored eyes, while the third sister, with grey eyes and long sleek black hair, kept her mouth hidden behind the long sleeves of her blouse.

The last to enter the room were Grimmjow's parents. His mother was tall and had dark skin like one of her daughters. She had short, spiky golden hair and piercing green eyes, and Ulquiorra felt immediately intimidated by her presence. The father, on contrary seemed to be more calm and laid-back. He had wavy brown hair falling past his shoulders and a poorly kept goatee. His grey eyes scanned the place lazily and he yawned as he walked behind his wife.

"I can't believe you've kept this place exactly the way it was when I lived here. Feels so nostalgic." the man mentioned, yawning again.

"At least it doesn't smell the way it did back then." His wife added with a deep voice and her arms crossed across her chest.

"Uh… yeah, Ulquiorra makes me clean the place 'coz he said he couldn't stand the smell of 'old pizza, sweat and dirty feet'" Grimmjow commented as he showed his family to the dining room.

That is exactly the kind of thing he should not be saying, the young teacher thought miserably, carrying the food trays to the table. The student had asked him to help cooking dinner since his parents had ordered that everything should be ready by the time they arrived and he had no idea of how to prepare a big Christmas dinner on his own, so Ulquiorra had had no other choice but to aid the helpless teen. Or rather, cook everything by himself while Grimmjow decorated the house.

"And who's Ulquiorra? Anyone brave enough to deal with you should be given a medal." the brunette sister laughed, taking a seat at the table that the emerald-eyed man was just finishing setting.

Grimmjow was about to retort angrily when his mother noticed the stranger standing on the opposite side of the room, dusting off his clothes.

"Who is this, Grimmjow?"

The teen turned his gaze at his teacher who sent a calm look in his direction, but still said nothing, waiting to be introduced.

"Didn't I tell ya I was gonna invite a friend over for dinner?"

"We thought you had invited Nnoitra-kun." His father supplied nonchalantly.

Grimmjow clicked his tongue.

"No way! Nnoitra's fun for parties and when I want to destroy somethin'. But he's a douche and he eats a lot." He complained, imagining the lanky idiot devouring all the food in a matter of minutes. "_This_ is Ulquiorra, he lives next door." He finally said, pointing at the shorter man.

Ulquiorra sighed with relief, grateful that Grimmjow had not mentioned that he was his teacher. He knew he could not keep it as a secret forever, but at least he hoped he would not be discovered so soon.

"Ulquiorra, these are my sisters, Mila Rose, Sung-Sun and Apacci." Grimmjow said, pointing at the three girls, who waved their hands at him, "Oh, and this midget's my little sister, Lilynette. I told you about her, didn't I?" he added, pointing at the short blond girl. "And these are my parents."

Grimmjow's parents both bowed. "I'm Tia Harribel, and my husband's name is Starrk, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Ulquiorra bowed too, still a bit scared by the woman's powerful stare. "Ulquiorra Cifer, the pleasure is mine."

Tia Harribel stared at him for a minute. Her deep, piercing eyes sent chills down Ulquiorra's spine.

"Cifer? Aren't you one of Grimmjow's teachers?"

_Damn it._

* * *

><p>It hadn't been as bad as Ulquiorra had envisioned.<p>

"Well, I don't know what you've been doing, but keep at it. Grimmjow's grades improved noticeably this period, especially in Literature. I was about to lose hope in this idiot. But make him work hard, he needs someone to watch over him since I'm not around."

Seriously. He had expected to be in jail by this moment. But instead, Tia Harribel was thanking him for tutoring her son, not accusing him for being a pervert. He had never felt so relieved in his life.

"Well, Ulquiorra-san looks like a gentleman, he's the kind of influence our Neanderthal brother needed." the long-haired sister said in a quiet voice.

"Shut yer trap, bitc-!"

Grimmjow couldn't finish his banter because Ulquiorra smacked him with a heavy book.

"OI! And what's wrong with _you_?"

"Such language and behaviour is inapproppriate, do not make such a pitiful display on the table."

The father eyed the exchange and quirked an eyebrow with curiosity but said nothing, sipping wine from his cup. It was in his nature not to act, simply observe and wait for the results. And he was damn good at it.

Tia Harribel didn't seem to notice anything strange, and if she did, she didn't act like it. She was glad to see that there was someone to correct her son when he acted out of line, and she didn't care whatever else was happening beyond that. A couple of months ago, she was prepared to give her only son a warning about his behaviour. She was tired of receiving calls from townspeople and teachers due to Grimmjow's vandalism and terrible performance at school. She was well acquainted with some of the teachers, so she received detailed information about the way her son was doing, even if the teen no longer lived with her and she had been about to give Grimmjow an ultimatum. If his grades didn't rise, she would stop paying his bills. Harribel would not force him to study if he didn't want to, but if he wanted to drop out of school, he'd had to face the real world all on his own.

Thus, she was really pleased to hear that not only had her reckless son started to behave a little more like a civil person, but one of her friends at school had called a couple of weeks ago to say how amazed all the teachers were about Grimmjow's improvement in most of his classes. Whether this was related to this young Literature teacher in more than one way, she couldn't tell yet, and she didn't care.

Suddenly, a piece of meat flew in front of her eyes and was followed by a loud curse from her blue-haired son.

"Ya wanna die, brat?"

"That's for taking the Xbox, stupid!"

"The Xbox's mine, suck it up!"

Harribel sighed. There they go again. It made no sense that her eleven-year-old daughter was always fighting her eighteen-year-old son, but it seemed like those two could not look at each other without starting a fight.

"What were ya just saying about my face, Mila Rose?"

"That you got a huge pimple. Serves you right for eating all my chocolate."

"At least I'm not a fat bitch like ya!"

"Honestly, the way you two fight is so unsightly."

"Shut the hell up, Sung-Sun!"

The three sisters were already bickering over meaningless things again, like they always did. Harribel eyed her husband, who was still sipping his drink lazily. When things came down to all her five children fighting each other, the best to do was to follow his example and just ignore them until all of them got tired and stopped fighting on their own.

Ulquiorra watched the whole display, not quite understanding how the Christmas dinner had become a battlefield. But watching all the siblings bickering and yelling at each other, acting like little kids, no matter how odd it was, gave him a warm, familiar feeling, that reminded him of his time in Tokyo, when his own family gathered to have dinner. A small smile appeared on his lips. He rose from his seat and walked away from the warzone, taking out his cellphone and typing a few characters. He looked at the screen for a couple seconds before pressing the send button.

_Merry Christmas, Mom._

* * *

><p>A couple of hours later, when Grimmjow's family had already left, Ulquiorra was helping the teen clean after the mess that the food war had left behind.<p>

"I should not be helping you with this. You are almost twenty years old and you participated in a food war with your little sister. You should clean this mess on your own."

"But… pleaasee! I could never do all of this alone! I need ya!" the student whined miserably, holding a mop and a bucket and looking like a lost kitty.

Ulquiorra shook his head disapprovingly. He was spoiling this kid too much.

"Holy fuck, I thought we'd never be done!"

It had taken two hours, but finally the apartment was back to how it looked before dinnertime. It was nearly four in the morning, and they were both completely spent. Cooking, decorating, having dinner, cleaning… All Ulquiorra wanted was to go back to his warm, comfy bed.

"Sorry about my family. They're a bit crazy. Specially Lilybrat. I don't need to tell ya, I guess, ya just saw it." The teen chuckled scratching the back of his head after taking a long gulp of soda.

Ulquiorra shook his head "Actually, I enjoyed it a lot. It reminded me of my own family. My mother's brother, my uncle, he's the owner a very important company and he's always busy, or traveling, so we can rarely see him. So on those rare occassions that he does come home, my mother organizes a big dinner and all the family gathers to spend time together. They are almost as if we were having our own celebration."

Grimmjow grinned. The raven-haired man quirked his eyebrows in curiosity.

"This's the first time you've talked to me 'bout yer family." He said, his grin widening.

Ulquiorra ignored the comment and took something out of his pocket. The sapphire-eyed teen stared with wide eyes at the silver-wrapped box that was being handed at him.

"No way! You got me something for Christmas?"

The teacher rolled his emerald eyes. He had never liked rethorical questions.

The young student opened the present happily, feeling like a little kid, and not caring about it. He believed everyone felt the same childish excitement when opening those colorful boxes, wrapped in bright papers and topped with big bows, as if those present boxes could hide true happiness inside them.

"Awesome man! Videogames! Yer the best!"

Ulquiorra watched him acting like a five-year-old who just opened a present to find exactly what he had asked for, a wide grin adorning his young features as he read over the titles he had just received. He really didn't know why he had done it, he had been walking around the mall and seen a game store and thought about Grimmjow. So he had decided to get them as a Christmas present. Something like an impulsive act. He rarely acted on impulse, and he was surprised at himself for doing it this time. But the young teen looked really happy, so he thought it couldn't be that bad.

Sapphire eyes rose from the games that were making him so happy, and met emerald ones.

"Thanks! Merry Christmas, Ulquiorra."

A hint of a smile appeared on the corner of the teacher's thin lips.

"Merry Christmas, Grimmjow."

**To be continued**

Firstly, I want to apologize. I wanted to upload this on Friday, but alas, my computer died last Saturday (DIED) and I just got her back yesterday (don't fret, all my files are backed-up). Just so you know, this story is only three-chapters, so the next one is the last one (huuuh, they grow up so quickly) and it's already written, but I'll upload it in a week or two since both chapters are pretty long.

Seconds, I once again apologize since I messed up the notes, Ha. Since the story is already written, I know what I'm supposed to say in the notes but forget which chapter's got what stuff. So I told you about Akutagawa when the book doesn't come up until this chapter. I fail like that. You can read the note about Akutagawa Ryuunosuke's _Jigoku-hen_ at the end of the previous chapter. Sorry for the mess. And yes, I actually used Ulquiorra's real birthday for that (December 1st as per the Masked book)

Ehhh… ah, the Chapter title. _The Man of the Crowd_ is another Poe tale, which, I confess I _haven't_ read (yes, I love Poe, no, I haven't read _all_ of his work). It is supposed to refer to Ulquiorra and his Demophobia (fear of crowds)

Now I want to thank Tokyo Kitty for all the help she gave me beta-reading this and for her advice about Christmas traditions in Japan and school periods and stuff. It helped a lot since I wanted to keep it as realistic as possible. On a funny note, when I described the "bus" she noted that Grimmjow seemed to be taking the bus in Chicago, to which I thought that the bus I described seems more like the ones in my own city so yeah LOL.

And yes, I made Starrk and Harribel to be Grimm's parents. Blame pretense. One of her Stray oneshots stuck with me since my very first incursions into GxU and now it's got to be them. But I added all the siblings because I like lively families full of noisy siblings. Blame my psychotic life.

There's a small mention of Jules Verne's Twenty _Thousand Leagues Under the Sea_. It's a classic, I read it when I was very young and I loved it. I think someone like Grimm would like an adventure sci-fi-ish kind of literature like Verne's.

That's all for my gigantic author notes of doom. I hope you like this chapter and thanks for all your nice reviews! Someone requested that I published Grimmjow's haiku from last chapter… ahhh I'll think about it, if more people ask for it I might want to embarrass mysef and my pathetic non-existent haiku-skills. For now, see you next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3 The Tell tale Heart

**Tales of Imagination**

**Chapter 3: The tell-tale Heart**

As the weeks went by and a new school term began, things changed in the already odd friendship between Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and Ulquiorra Cifer.

"Hey, sensei, where're we gonna meet today?"

The emerald-eyed man really wanted to smack the teen with a book. Today he was carrying the _Quixote_, a particularly heavy volume, maybe one hit with that one would finally teach the teen about proper behaviour while at school?

Nevermind, he knew it was a waste of time. He should at least be grateful that the young man had not called him by his given name.

"In the same place we always do, Jaegerjaquez, and I have already told you not to mention our meetings at school. This seems like a lousy excuse to initiate a conversation, what is it that you really want?"

Grimmjow scratched the back of his head with a dumb grin adorning his features and a light blush spreading across his cheeks.

"Uhm… well… I think I had somethin' to tell ya, but I forgot haha. So… see ya later!"

And he dashed away through the crowded hallway, disappearing from Ulquiorra's sight. The teacher sighed tiredly and turned the other way, walking towards his next class.

So troublesome.

* * *

><p>Ulquiorra took a glance at his wristwatch, knowing there was no point in doing so. He was a man of routine, so he arrived on time. But thad did not mean his companion would do the same. In fact, it was almost part of the routine that the person he was expecting arrived late and always at a different time.<p>

The bell jingled erratically as the door of the small café was opened a bit too brutally and a tall teen entered the shop, seemingly agitated.

"Sorry, Ulqui, I stayed behind to… ehm… read, yeah… and since I dun have my bike t'day… yanno'…"

Ulquiorra's chin was resting on his hand, and he sent the teenager a disbelieving look.

"Of course. And that explains why you smell like burnt trash."

Grimmjow blushed as he sat and peeked at the menu. Unlike his teacher, he was sponteneous he liked to try new and different things, and he couldn't understand why the man would order the same drink every time they came here. Didn't he get bored of it?

"Fine, I went with Nnoitra and set fire on Aizen's trashcans. His house's on the way so… And… and he-he totally deserved it! He sent me extra homework 'cos I… oi! I don't hafta explain myself to ya!"

"Indeed." The green-eyed man replied nonchalantly and he made a sign to the waitress, ignoring the student's quickly deepening blush.

* * *

><p>Sapphire eyes followed pale fingers as they placed the letters on the gameboard. It had been a month since the Christmas dinner with Grimmjow's family, and things had changed a lot between them. If the young student had to put it into words, he'd say they had gotten much closer since that night.<p>

It had started after that Christmas dinner. A couple of days afterwards, Grimmjow had ventured to ask Ulquiorra if he wanted to hang out, since he was so bored he thought he would die. The teacher was reluctant at first, but he agreed to go with him to a nearby café. Then slowly, it grew into a habit. They would take a short walk in the park, go to the soccer grounds and join in the children's games (well, Grimmjow would, while Ulquiorra would watch and shake his head disapprovingly), and if Ulquiorra was in a good mood, Grimmjow would convince him to go to the arcade with him, only to find out that the little bastard could kick his ass in Street Fighters any time he wanted (was there anything that asshole couldn't do?). And then they would grab a small lunch and some coffee at the café.

When the winter break was over, it was very obvious they couldn't keep doing these things every day. So they decided (or rather, Grimmjow pressed Ulquiorra to agree on it) that on Fridays (they were, after all, their 'special days'), so as to not arise false and unwanted rumors amongst the teachers and students, they would meet after school in the same café, which was conveniently located right in the way to their building, and then they would take their way back to Grimmjow's appartment to play Scrabble as usual.

The raven-haired teacher lifted his cup to his lips and took a short sip, staring at him intently.

"Your turn."

The student blushed and scrambled through his letters.

"I'll swap, got no shit here."

He was actually too flustered for having been caught spacing out to try and figure out any coherent word. Ulquiorra made no comment and went back to study his game, his elegant fingers arranging pieces, forming different combinations where Grimmjow couldn't see. The young student allowed himself to be entranced by the swift way those digits moved from one letter to the other, the intense concentration reflected in the deep emerald eyes, the subtle movement of thin lips, quietly speaking to nobody, and he just wanted to lean in and…

Grimmjow was well aware of his feelings for the Literature teacher. He had tried to deny it when he had first kissed the sleeping man, but it had become more and more obvious that he was just lying to himself. He just kept making up excuses to spend more time with the raven-haired man. He wanted to see him _all the time_. And he enjoyed every minute they spent together. He loved observing the teacher's odd quirks and manias, his dislike for social interaction and his weird speech pattern. His deep voice, his beautiful eyes, and the way his raven hair contrasted against his pale skin. Yes, Grimmjow knew it was too late to deny his feelings for the young teacher.

But just as much as he was aware of his feelings, he had also decided not to pursue the raven-haired teacher. Not yet at least. Ulquiorra was a rational person, a man that was too attached to his schedule and that followed the rules at all costs. These were all basic things that Grimmjow knew about Ulquiorra Cifer. And if he didn't play by the man's rules, he would lose the game in his first turn. A relationship between a teacher and a student was forbidden, illegal. Grimmjow might not give a damn, but Ulquiorra would never be able to ignore these details. Rules and laws were important. So he decided to wait. He'd wait for Ulquiorra to give him any sign. He'd respect Ulquiorra's rules and play by them. And when the tides were in his favor, when he noticed the first approving gesture, then he'd make his move.

Ulquiorra watched as his student faked concentration on his gameplay, trying to hide the continuous glances he kept sending in his direction. He let out an inaudible sigh as the teen placed his letters on the board with his big calloused hands, a triumphant smile showing on his lips. The young teacher found it greatly amusing how proud the teen felt when he came up with a 'big word' and how he sincerely believed he was becoming smarter. He could almost call it endearing.

Which led to Ulquiorra's current predicament. It was pitiful for a man of his kind and position, but he had actually fallen for the youngster's charms. He could not believe that such a pathetic thing was happening to him, but trying to deny it would be even more pitiful. There was something about the boy's loudness and immaturity, the way his delinquent attitude was balanced out by his naïvety. Ulquiorra knew it was forbidden, and as a grown-up man he was, he had set himself onto simply ignoring his ridiculous feelings, and ultimately, getting rid of them. It shouldn't be so hard to accomplish. Really, it wasn't a problem, that was, so long as those feelings remained unrequited. But he was no fool, there was no way he would miss the tender look in those sapphire eyes, the slight nervousness in his voice, the barely noticeable clumsiness in his movements, the faint blush on his tan cheeks… it was all too evident. And it was troublesome.

* * *

><p>In spite of whatever inner turmoil that could be going on in either the teacher's or the student's head, life went on with some sort of normalcy and January turned into February with all the problems it represented.<p>

Yes, February was a problematic month. Grimmjow was trying really hard to concentrate on whatever Drunktard-sensei was saying, he really was, but how was he supposed to when he was trying to gather up some courage to ask Ulquiorra for dinner on Valentine's day?

The accursed February 14th was just around the corner, and while Grimmjow had promised not to try to make any advances for the green-eyed teacher, this _was_ Valentine's day and it was Friday, so it shouldn't be a big deal, right? They'd just have dinner and play Scrabble, like they normally did, and Grimmjow would give him a chocolate. A _hand-made_ chocolate. They were friends, right? Ulquiorra wouldn't get suspicious about it, would he? Grimmjow slammed his sweat-covered forehead against the desk. He was acting like such a chick, it was disgusting. Nnoitra must never know of the shit he was thinking or he'd never leave him alone.

Ulquiorra had been wary when he heard Grimmjow's invitation for dinner at his house on Valentine's day. He knew the implications that came with going over to the teen's apartment that night. But Fridays at Grimmjow's house were now part of his routine and it would be hard for him to just ignore the schedule for the sake of his sanity. And then there was that part of him that he could not ignore and that really enjoyed the teen's company.

So he found himself sitting across a very flustered teenager in the usual coffee table, holding a cup of tea in his hand and watching quietly as the sapphire-eyed youngster prepared the gameboard while failing to hide his constant fidgeting.

Grimmjow wanted to hit himself. Why was he acting so nervous? He could notice the hint of amusement in Ulquiorra's eyes; the man could obviously see his agitation and was apparently quite entertained with the embarrassing display he was giving. He needed to get a hold of himself. This was just another normal Friday, they'll play a normal game and then he'll give Ulquiorra his chocolate as a token of their friendship. He didn't have any reason to be so fidgety. Still, he couldn't get rid of the deepening blush that had spread on his face.

Cifer picked his letters and took a sip from his tea, remaining unfazed by the young man's uneasiness. "Today is your turn to pick a theme. What will it be?" He commented casually.

Since classes had started in January, they had changed the way they played the game to make it harder and see if Grimmjow learned something about his other school subjects. Grimmjow had thus learned that Ulquiorra was not only a very wordy person, but that he was very knowledgeable in almost every subject, and he could pull out words like 'axiom' just like he could fluidly explain what an 'alkane' was. And today, it was Grimmjow's turn to choose what theme they would be playing by. He blushed. He could do this, damnit, he wasn't about to blow it just because his teenage hormones had decided to kick in today.

"W-well, it's kinda obvious, right? It's Valentine's day, so that's gotta be the theme. I guess shit like love and friends and cheesy stuff?"

The young teacher quirked an eyebrow. "I never took you for one to take this celebration so seriously. But if that is what you want, I am not going to object."

Grimmjow sighed in relief. So far, so good. His relief was short lived, though, for as soon as he saw the letters he had picked from the green Scrabble pouch, he regretted picking that theme. He had meant it playfully, as a natural way to act given the occasion, but he was starting to wonder if he was going to be able to keep his cool throughout the whole night. His hands shook a little as he placed the word in the center of the board. _Beloved_.

The student could see Ulquiorra's lips twitching upwards for a fraction of second. Unbelievable! Grimmjow was having a battle with himself and his morals and Ulquiorra was laughing at him.

The emerald-eyed teacher inspected the word the teen had chosen. He was slightly amused, yes, but he was troubled too. Perhaps coming here had not been a good idea after all. He had no doubt in the innocence and good intention of Grimmjow's actions, his nervousness and the childish blush on his cheeks gave him away immediately. But he was worried to think about what those actions could lead to. And they could certainly lead to deep trouble.

He scanned through his letters absentmindedly and his eyes widened for a second. Maybe he should really leave. This night, this game… all of it called for problems. Yet he couldn't find it in him to part from those cheerful blue eyes. So he simply wrote _Confess_ on the board, unable to keep his emerald eyes away from the sapphire ones.

Grimmjow started to sweat. Was Ulquiorra mocking him? Maybe this was the signal he had been waiting for?

He nearly slapped himself. He had been the one to establish the "love" theme. He shouldn't be getting weird ideas now. The amusement was gone from Ulquiorra's eyes and his face had recovered its usual blankness. He took a deep breath. He could do this. He could have a nice, friendly Valentine's Day with Ulquiorra and be his usual self around the man, in spite of everything. He was no silly lovesick girl, he was going to get through this night and he was going to enjoy it, that had been the point to begin with. He glanced at his letters. Somehow, with a particular theme in mind, the words just lined up pretty neatly. He smirked as he placed his pieces on the board.

_Flower__. Bouquet. Roses. Embrace. Date. . Darling. Love. Kissed. Lust. Want. Passion. Desire._

The words kept connecting, one after the other. Grimmjow was panting. Somehow, the game's intensity had escalated, and something told him it hadn't been completely accidental. Whatever game they were playing, Ulquiorra was playing along, whether on purpose or not, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to see where this could lead him. It was dangerous. It was tempting. Did the other man know what he was doing to Grimmjow? His face betrayed no emotion whatsoever as his elegant fingers danced across the gameboard, placing letters, enticing him with words. How did it turn out like this?

Sapphire eyes scanned his letters quickly, as if in panic. He had to take control over this situation or he would do something he would later regret. He had worked so hard and tried his best to keep a normal, friendly relationship with his teacher, he was not going to throw it away, and any future opportunities with it, just because of a bunch of hormones.

He scrunched his eyebrows in determination and grabbed the letters he was going to use. Fuck everything. He was in control of this stupid situation and he was going to prove it.

And so he wrote the word _diaper_ on the board.

Ulquiorra blinked perplexed.

"Unless I am missing something, I am afraid there is no connection between 'diapers' and 'Valentine's Day'" he stated flatly.

Grimmjow huffed and crossed his arms indignantly. "Of course there is! Yanno' that Cupid thing? He wears diapers! Gotcha' with that one, didn't I?"

The raven-haired man quirked an eyebrow and his emerald eyes shifted from the odd word to the determined young student, and back to the board. And it started to bubble from within him until he couldn't hold it back anymore and it broke out from his dual-colored lips, a clear, musical laughter that filled the room with its deep echo.

Grimmjow was entranced. It was the first time he heard Ulquiorra's laughter. The pale teacher was not a very expressive man. He could count with his fingers the number of times he had seen those thin lips curve into a subtle smile. And this laughter… this laughter, Grimmjow thought, was the most beautiful sound he had heard in his life. He wanted to engrave its melody in his heart, he wanted to memorize the feel of the echo against the walls and the effect it had when it reached its ears. He wanted to imprint that beautiful laughter into his soul.

Before he realized what he was doing, he leaned in across the small coffee table and cupped the man's pale cheek to press his hard chapped lips against the other soft delicate pair. He stood still, ignoring his reason, or any sort of common sense he could have and relished in the moment, in the warmth that was spreading over his body.

When he pulled apart he was met with wide emerald eyes and a flushed pale face. Ulquiorra scooted backwards and stood up in a sudden move, startling Grimmjow.

"It's getting late, I have some things to tend to." He said, and left without any further explanation.

The blue-haired student stood frozen on the spot until he heard the door of the other's apartment shut close. His hand tightened in a fist as he stared at the closed door and the spot where the raven head had disappeared.

_Shit._

* * *

><p>There was no sign of Ulquiorra for the whole weekend.<p>

Grimmjow felt like a caged lion, pacing around his little apartment for hours, walking from the window, to search for his figure in the outside world, to the door, waiting to hear the sound of his footsteps in the hallway. His car was still parked outside the building, so that meant he intended to come back someday, or so Grimmjow hoped.

In all due honesty, the younger man understood why Ulquiorra acted the way he did. He, Grimmjow, had crossed the line, and it was obvious that the green-eyed teacher wanted to put some distance between them to let everything cool down. He was just fretting because he felt incredibly stupid for what he had done, and because he knew that he had most likely ruined any sort of relationship or trust they had managed to build up so far. He had to give it time, leave Ulquiorra alone for a while and give him some space, perhaps apologize, and maybe, just maybe, he'd manage to get things back to how they were before.

But he still couldn't help the uneasy feeling coiling in his gut when he glanced at the lonely black car parked outside the building.

* * *

><p>Monday came around and there was still no sign of Ulquiorra. When he left for school, the car was still parked outside. Was Ulquiorra intending to skip his morning classes? Had he overslept? That was something that the workaholic, schedule-freak Ulquiorra Cifer would never do. Maybe he should go to his apartment and check on him? But he had been paying attention to the hallway all night, there had been nothing to indicate that the man had come back at all.<p>

During lunchtime, he overheard a couple of girls talking "think Cifer-sensei's okay? Hope he's not sick."

That made Grimmjow worry. Ulquiorra hadn't shown up for school at all? He had been searching for him all morning, but he thought the man was simply avoiding him. But that he had completely missed his classes was not like him. He really had fucked up.

On Wednesday he had Literature class with the missing raven-head. Or that's how it was supposed to be. But said raven-head was, as stated, missing. The man had disappeared five days ago and Grimmjow had had little sleep wondering what could've happened to him. And he was still worrying as he sat waiting, expectantly, hoping for that familiar petite body to cross the door exactly at the right time to start the class. But when the bell rang and he didn't hear sharp steady footsteps entering the classroom, he knew Ulquiorra wouldn't show up.

The class that had been filled with loud voices suddenly fell quiet. Grimmjow lifted his face from the desk and his eyes widened when he saw the usually sickly History teacher, Ukitake-sensei sitting at _Ulquiorra's_ desk. Seeing someone else occupying Ulquiorra's desk made his heart ache.

"Cifer-sensei is taking a short break due to some personal matters, so for the time being I will be in charge of his class."

Whispers and voices rose through the room. The subject of the young teacher's sudden disappearance was the hot topic of the school rumors, and some people went as far as saying he had been involved in a scandal with a student, or that he had died. Grimmjow shivered every time he heard these rumors, and horrible nightmares plagued him every night because of them.

He shot a single glance at Ukitake-sensei, who was reviewing "Cifer-sensei's notes on the class progress" and banged his head on the desk. It was definitely no good if it was not Ulquiorra.

* * *

><p>Friday night arrived and Grimmjow found himself lying on the floor staring at the ceiling, the Scrabble box by his side, the letters scattered everywhere due to a sudden moment of rampage in which he had lost control of himself and thrown the fucking thing against the wall. He'd have one hell of a night finding all of them, but he was not in the mood for it now.<p>

His blue eyes scanned the room until they found the coffee table, the one that looked so oddly empty now that Ulquiorra was not sitting there, holding a cup of tea and arranging his letters on the board with unseen dexterity. On top of the coffee table he could see the little box wrapped in silver paper, the box containing the chocolate that he had intended to give Ulquiorra on Valentine's Day, but hadn't had the chance to, given the circumstances.

He sighed and sat up, his eyes still fixed on the tiny box. Why did it have to come to this? Fucking teenage hormones had to ruin everything. He slapped himself. It was already a week since Ulquiorra left. His car had begun to gather dust, something that the neat-freak teacher would've never allowed to happen, so Grimmjow had made it his duty to make sure the velvet black Lexus stayed as clean as Ulquiorra would normally keep it.

Thinking of the thin layer of dust that had been covering the usually flawless vehicle, the teal-haired teen's chest started to feel heavy. Was Ulquiorra really coming back? He was trying to convince himself that he was not the kind of man to leave the town and abandon his car just because he was upset with him. If any, Cifer would probably come back and pretend nothing ever happen, because that was the kind of guy he was, though he probably wouldn't want to be related with Grimmjow again. He reached out to grab the silver-wrapped chocolate.

_The fuck am __I gonna do with this now?_

He could eat it, but he didn't feel right doing it. If he left it there until Ulquiorra came back, it would melt and become unedible, not that he would have the guts to face the teacher and give it to him. Or he could throw it away. But it kind of hurt to think that he would never get to deliver his gift to the green-eyed man. After all, Ulquiorra himself had once told him how much he liked chocolate, so he had tried his best to make it for him. But now it was going to be wasted because Ulquiorra was never going to eat it. He sighed. He was really pathetic, wasn't he?

In the end, the only thing he could really do was get rid of the damn thing. He shoved it into his pocket and decided to take a stride around the block to find a better place to dump the useless chocolate. He was doing himself no good drowning in self-pity, so he stood up and walked out of his small messy apartment (Ulquiorra wasn't around to make him clean the place).

Yet, instead of leaving the building as was his initial plan, his body froze the moment his eyes met the wooden door with the golden number four, right across the hallway. He fingered the box inside his pocket absentmindedly and moved towards the door. Maybe discarding it wasn't the right thing to do? It was still edible, and he had made it for Ulquiorra; and even if he had been rejected by the raven-haired man, he still felt like he should give him the chocolate that was after all, intended to be a token of their friendship.

With this in mind he walked across the hallway, which seemed really easy to accomplish now that he had this new-found resolution, and took out the spare key Ulquiorra had given him some time ago.

"_You may come and borrow any book you want if am not home_." He had said back then, with his usual nonchalant expression, but Grimmjow knew, damned hell, he knew that getting the key to Ulquiorra's apartment was fucking _important_ because a man as closed up and reserved as he was, would never let anyone into his sacred sanctuary unless they had his complete and absolute trust. And so he started feeling slightly guilty for breaking that trust by using that precious key in such an inappropriate time and for the wrong reason. But damnit, he just wanted to be close to something, to _anything_ of Ulquiorra's, and he was getting so pathetically desperate that he had to make up a ridiculous excuse to get into the aparment.

The moment he stepped into the apartment, he was instantaneously hit by the characteristic "Ulquiorra-scent", as he had labeled it. The scent of papers, books and warm tea. He had a sudden need to get enveloped in that scent, let it cling on to him and never leave. He chuckled.

"I can't believe I'm this pathetic."

He walked towards the bookshelf he knew so well, and took in the scent of the books, of the old paper and the leather covers. He had come to love that scent and how it seemed to cover every inch of the room.

His fingers pulled out a thick volume, one that he was very familiar with and particularly fond of. He stroked the cover of the _Tales of Mystery and Imagination_, the first book he had borrowed from this library, as if it were something precious. And it was, he realized. Books were, all things considered, the reason he had met Ulquiorra in the first place.

He put the book back in its place with a quick move. What the heck was he doing, getting all mushy and mopey? He needed to get his shit back together, because this was definitely _not_ like him. He was not going to get his brain screwed by some stuck-up moron that just decided to take off just because he couldn't handle one little kiss. He left the gift, the supposed reason that brought him here in the first place, in the fridge, and exited the apartment without looking back.

* * *

><p>It had now officially been two weeks since Ulquiorra disappeared and Grimmjow was finally getting back to the normal pace of his life. He had even hung out with Nnoitra a couple of times, which he hadn't done in ages. And though he kept washing and polishing the velvet black Lexus that laid abandoned outside of his building, he was starting to believe that he was going to recover the normal teenage life he used to have before he met the emerald-eyed teacher.<p>

Yeah, right.

Deep down, Grimmjow knew he was just as miserable as he had been the first night after Cifer's departure. He was just trying to forget about his own loneliness with Nnoitra's crappy booze (hadn't he promised he wasn't going to drink that shit anymore? He was sure he could _hear_ his braincells _agonizing_ eveytime he swallowed one swig of that… suspicious looking liquid). But instead of convincing himself with that idiotic lie and at least getting a fake feeling of going back to his old mundane life, he felt even more miserable and pathetic than before.

It was Tuesday and he was on the rooftop, skipping through some class that he didn't quite remember. He had started to lose track of time recently and though he had tried not to skip many classes, he felt in a particularly dark mood today. So he just watched Nnoitra take long drags from a cigarrette while rambling about their next escapade, to which he wasn't paying much attention.

"Sheesh, dude, what's wrong with ya? Ya been actin' like a chick since Emo-prick left. Didja have a fight? 's that why he left? Seriously, get over it, y're so pathetic, it's fuckin' borin'."

Grimmjow ignored him, though deeply tempted to punch the living daylights out of him, and instead he stood up from the ground and returned to the building for his P.E. class. It was then that he saw it. A flash of emerald as he walked past the third-year classrooms. He stopped dead in his tracks and took two steps back just to stare dumbfounded at the inside of the room, where those deep green eyes that occupied all of his thoughts and dreams were standing in front of a group of students as if nothing ever happened, as if they had never disappeared.

Suddenly the bell rang and a mass of students started to flood the halls. Grimmjow had to hold onto the walls to avoid being swept away by the noisy crowds, his eyes still fixed on the petite figure that had yet to leave the classroom, too concentrated in putting his books away to notice the sapphire eyes staring at him.

Grimmjow's knees started to go weak when he heard those firm yet soft footsteps approaching the door where he was standing. What would he say? What would Ulquiorra say? Would he be angry, would he want to talk to him? By the time he thought that maybe running away might have been a good idea, the door flung open, and those green eyes were staring right into his.

"Yes?"

Grimmjow never expected Ulquiorra to be the one to speak first, nor did he expect him to do it so soon, and thus he was completely unprepared for it. Whatever he could've thought of saying became a flood of incomprehensible babbling, and no matter how hard he struggled to form a coherent sentence, his brain was completely blank. After he made a fool of himself for a full minute, Ulquiorra sighed and turned his back on him.

"I will see you in class tomorrow, Jaegerjaquez."

And he passed him by with no further word, leaving Grimmjow completely stupefied. For a second, he tried to lunge forward and stop the petite man, but instead he just stood there, watching the raven-haired teacher disappear among the crowd.

* * *

><p>Grimmjow had been pacing around his appartment like a caged animal ever since he had arrived. After the classes had ended, he apologized to Nnoitra and left without further explanation, earning a 'tch' from the taller teen, as he rushed back home. Because, no matter what, Ulquiorra <em>had<em> to go back to the building, and _then_ Grimmjow would confront him. He wouldn't let him run away this time. Not ever again.

And so now he was waiting, waiting to hear the steady pace of those swift footsteps, the soft rustling of clothes as he searched for the key in his pocket, the subtle noise of the door across the hall clicking open, the…

_Oh shit, he's here._

Grimmjow opened the door with a bang and was met with startled emerald eyes. Without thinking what he was doing, he pinned the small teacher against the wall, ignoring the pounding heat creeping all the way through his body.

"You… I… I kissed you."

Cifer regained his composure and stared up at him, apparently unfazed by the current situation.

"Your hair is blue."

"That's not the point, I mean I… wait… eh?"

The pale man blinked, his expression remaining unchanged.

"I thought we were establishing obvious facts."

Grimmjow snarled angrily and clenched his teeth in frustration.

"No! You… you're not just gonna play smart words and get your way out of this just like that. I mean, what the fuck? I- I kissed ya and ya just run away like that? And then ya come back an-"

"I did not run away."

Once again, Grimmjow was dumbfounded by the teacher's response. He didn't get Ulquiorra at all, how could he act so calm after everything that had happened? And now he was saying that he hadn't run away? The more they talked, the more confused Grimmjow felt.

"How's that not runnin' away? I kissed ya –fuck, I've said it three times already, don' make me repeat it again, damn it- and the next thing I know, you've left the town and nobody knows where the shit you went. How'd ya call it then?"

"I went to visit my mother. Her birthday was last month, but Ukitake-sensei was sick and could not cover for me back then. Now that he had recovered I asked for permission to take a few days off to visit her. I could tell you to ask the headmaster if you want confirmation, but I am not a teenager, I do not need to prove the truth in my words."

Grimmjow wanted to curse out loud and pull at his hair, not understanding one shit of what was happening. Was it really all there was to it? Visiting his mother for her birthday? He knew Ulquiorra was very close to his mom, he had heard him calling her frequently to tell her that he was doing fine and that he was enjoying his new life in the small town. But it didn't make sense to him. It sounded more like the petite teacher had actually run away and in the midst of his confused frenzy had decided that it was a good time to visit his family.

"Is that all you wanted to talk about? I have to read Ukitake-sensei's report on every class's progress during my absence."

The teen was snapped out of his daze and drew his body closer to the smaller man.

"Eh? What… No! Shit, yer runnin' away again! I- no, don't interrupt me, I'm tryin' to say some important shit here and if you cut me off I'm never gonna be able to say it." he lashed out as he saw Ulquiorra open his mouth to say something. "You… I mean, you can't just have something like _that_ happen, then leave without sayin' a fucking word, and then come back and pretend everything's fine an' dandy." His resolve started to crumble and his grip on the wall loosened as his shoulders shook slightly. "You… you can't… I was here all the time thinking I had fucked up big time… that you weren't coming back… and now yer here and yer not sayin' shit and actin' all Ulquiorra-high-and-mighty and I… fuck!"

Ulquiorra tilted his head to the side, apparently amused by the teen's struggle, though his face betrayed no emotion as usual.

"Grimmjow, what do you _want_ from me?"

Sapphire eyes widened and for a moment, the student didn't know how to answer to that question. What did he want from Ulquiorra? Of couse, the obvious answer was that he wanted him to reciprocate his feelings, but he was not going to say that out loud. If he was going to ask for something, he wanted something that Ulquiorra could give him willingly and sincerely.

"I want… I want an answer."

The raven-haired teacher gave a long, calmed sigh and rose his emerald eyes to look into the teen's face. Before Grimmjow knew what was happening, the petite man had stood in his tiptoes to press his pale lips against his own chapped ones.

"I expect you to understand that I am your teacher and will still be so until the end of the school year. What happens afterwards is not in the concerns of the school policy. Now if you will, I have a lot of paperwork to do. I will see you tomorrow in class, Grimmjow."

The young student was so absolutely stupefied that all he could do was nod and produce and uninteligible grunt while he let his arms fall to his sides, allowing the small teacher to walk away from him. When he finally recovered some notion of reality, he saw Ulquiorra entering his apartment and closing the door behind him.

"O-oy! Are we still on for Friday… you know… the usual?"

Ulquiorra stopped in his tracks for a moment and allowed himself a small chuckle.

"Are we back to the obvious statements, Jaegerjaquez?" and with no further word, he disappeared behind the door.

* * *

><p>For the next few weeks, it seemed as if nothing had happened at all. Ulquiorra came back to school and continued giving his classes as usual, making no comment about his disappearance. And their Friday routine went back to normal, having lunch in the café, playing Scrabble until dawn…<p>

The thing is, Grimmjow wasn't sure if he liked it. Sure, he was happy that Ulquiorra didn't hate him, damn, he was absolutely ecstatic because Ulquiorra was actually _talking_ to him. But this _pretend that nothing happened_ was getting on his nerves. Had he imagined that sort-of-kiss in the hallway? Had he misunderstood the teacher's words back then?

He thought Ulquiorra had told him to wait, wait until the school year was over, until Ulquiorra's time as a substitute teacher ended and Tousen came back for his job. Because there were rules and someone like Ulquiorra Cifer was not one to break them. And Grimmjow understood that and respected it. He hadn't expected anything from Ulquiorra, to begin with; shit, just that kiss (it had been real, right?) had been enough to keep him in the moon for a whole week. But waiting was not his thing, especially if he wasn't sure if all that waiting would be worth it in the end. Because Ulquiorra was acting way too… Ulquiorra, and Grimmjow was wondering if there really was something to wait for or if he should just give up on all hopes.

The young teenager knew asking directly was not the best approach in the current situation, but he knew no other way to get any signs from the emerald-eyed man. His gaze drifted from the ceiling, where he had fixed his eyes, to focus them on the gameboard and Ulquiorra's elegant pale fingers. He truly loved to watch Cifer play; his eyes scanning the letters, his slim fingers forming combinations away from his view, deeply concentrated, just to choose the best word and place it swiftly and smoothly on the board.

_Thoughts._

Ulquiorra had used all of his letters to write that word. For a moment, all Grimmjow could do was frown, because the bastard always got the best words and the highest scores. And then he noticed the man was tapping on the table with his finger. It was subtle, soft, just loud enough to get his attention. The teacher's face said nothing, his eyes pointed towards the board. And Grimmjow understood. It was not a simple word, rather, it was a question. Ulquiorra had noticed him spacing out and wanted to know what he was thinking. He was about to open his mouth, but then he glanced at the board and then at his letters. So that's how it was.

_Hallway._

Grimmjow smiled in satisfaction. He had actually pulled off a seven-letter word. He just hoped Ulquiorra got the message, because he couldn't think of any other way to explain himself in just one word. And although he was a bit afraid to look at the pale man's face, he still managed the courage to raise his sapphire eyes and meet his neighbour's emerald ones.

The other man eyed the word carefully as in deep thought. His face still showed no emotion, and he didn't look at Grimmjow either, his gaze fixed on the board. After an agonizingly long silence, the man directed his eyes at his letters and started arranging them in the board.

_Patience._

And then Grimmjow remembered that he had to breathe as a wide grin formed on his lips.

* * *

><p>"Is Cifer-sensei really leaving?"<p>

"But whyyyyy? He's so cuuuute!"

"They say he got involved with a student so he got laid off."

"I heard he was inviting students to some cult… he has that kind of look."

Grimmjow was _this_ close to snapping at the idiotic group sitting right behind him in the closing ceremony. Had everyone forgotten that Ulquiorra was just taking Blindshit-sensei's place until he recovered? Seriously, a cult? He eyed the petite teacher, who was now standing in front of the microphone and giving a speech about his departure. His pale skin, his messy, raven hair, his big emerald eyes, his dual-colored lips, the green tear-like tattos running down his cheeks…

Fine, he did look like the kind of guy who would start a cult.

Still, he hated to think that he would be remembered like "the teacher that was kicked out because he had some cult" or some other strange thing like that. But he knew it couldn't be helped. It was not the first time a teacher left the school and it always came with odd unbelievable rumors forming around them. People talked and gossipped, there was nothing to do about it.

"It has been a pleasure to be a part of this school and to be your teacher. Even though my time here was short it was a good experience for me, and I will remember it as such. I hope all of you keep working hard and making your best efforts for the sake of your future. Thank you."

The crowd clapped as Ulquiorra left the stage and the class representative for the graduating generation took the microphone. Grimmjow followed the emerald-eyed man with his eyes and smiled.

* * *

><p>The raven-haired man leaned against the black Lexus parked outside the school. Waiting. What would happen now? Even he didn't know for sure. Still, he waited. And for once, he pushed the consequences to a deep dark corner of his mind where they couldn't bother him.<p>

And though he was Ulquiorra Cifer, and he was usually unaffected by the world around him, he couldn't deny how his heart skipped a beat when he saw a tuft of electric blue hair rushing towards him while waving his hand enthusiastically. He felt kind of guilty.

_He is too much of a kid._

Yet, he couldn't stop the tiny smile from appearing on his face at seeing the wide grin on the younger boy's face.

"Yo, Unemployed-sensei!"

Ulquiorra sent him a sideways glance. Indeed, too much of a child.

"As a matter of fact, I have a job offer from the Karakura College and I plan on taking it. So I will not remain 'unemployed' for long."

Grimmjow laughed and scooted closer to the petite teacher, leaning back against the shiny black car.

"Then I'll make sure not to apply for that school. It was crappy enough having to wait for this year to end so that ya wouldn't be my teacher anymore."

The petite man sighed. Cutting straight to the point huh? And here he was enjoying some peace of mind. But apparently, the brash teen would have none of that. And he was entitled to it, after he had waited for so long. He took a step away from the car with a calm expression and turned to face Grimmjow.

"And what are you going to _do_ now that I am no longer your teacher?"

Grimmjow stared at him quizzically, wondering what kind of answer was the man expecting from him. He knew that Ulquiorra wanted him to take some sort of action in regards to… _them_, but he just didn't know how to make a move now. The determination that brought him here started to falter and he went back to being the nervous fidgety teen he always was when his feelings got the best of him.

"I… I was kind of expecting that ya'd tell me what I should do… or at least give me a clue…" Damn, he was being so silly now.

Ulquiorra dug his hands into his pockets, his eyes fixed on the taller teen and kind of amused by his struggle.

"Well, what do you _want_ to do?"

He watched as the boy's cheeks flushed red and watched him stutter and blabber with embarrassment and he felt slightly guilty for toying with him like that. But just when he was about to open his mouth again, Grimmjow seemed to remember that as young as he was, he was no kid, and he needed to grow up and say things directly as he should have done in the first place.

"I… Please go out with me!"

Ulquiorra was taken aback by the sudden declaration, and stood speechless, waiting for the teen to continue.

"Ulquiorra, I… I really like ya. I mean, I'm not the smartest shit an' yer… well yer much smarter than me, an' cuter too. And I didn't think of some sappy speech for today, I'm not as good as ya with words, but the point is that I-"

Ulquiorra cut him off. With a kiss.

"I get it, Grimmjow. And yes, I would like to go out with you."

Grimmjow grinned. He didn't need long, wordy, complicated answers, even if it was Ulquiorra.

* * *

><p>"So it's my turn to pick tonight's theme, isn't it"<p>

Ulquiorra sipped his tea quietly and nodded, watching the enegetical teen expectantly.

"Then let's do it with Poe's _Tales_."

The teacher quirked an elegant eyebrow quizically. "No videogames or licor themes tonight?"

"Oy, I can come up with 'smart' topics to play too."

The emerald-eyed teacher just nodded and sipped his tea again, glancing at his letters while waiting for Grimmjow to start the game. The teen scratched his chin in concentration and took a couple of minutes fingering his pieces before he decided what to write on the board.

_Ligeia._

"If ya need to know, that's my favorite tale. Well, the _Rue Morgue_ is pretty cool too."

Once again, Ulquiorra looked up at him questioningly. "_Ligeia_? I never knew you were one for romantic tales."

Grimmjow grinned like a mischievous child and sent a meaningful glance towards Ulquiorra. "Well, yanno'… Ligeia was a beautiful intelligent _woman_ with raven hair and pale skin… 'Sides it's not totally romantic, it's spooky too."

The raven-haired man frowned, slightly annoyed by the youngster's teasing. He drove his eyes back to his own letters, mentally forming words and combinations, searching for the best possibility.

"In that case, what's _yer_ favorite tale then?"

His game was not really good this time, luck was apparently not on his side. In spite of his superior brains and capability, he would probably be forced to a weak start considering the letters he had on him.

"My favourite Edgar Allan Poe tale? It should be obvious…"

He did not suppress a tiny smile as he placed the word on the board.

_Black_.

"_The black cat_, of course."

**End**

It's over! Ahhh, this was so quick! Though it didn't feel like that to me since it took several months to write this chapter (just you guys didn't notice, lucky you).

Thanks Tokyo Kitty for beta-reading this! Even if I sent her the last chapter six months after she checked the second one she was willing to help with it, I'm incredibly grateful ;-;

Now, in this chapter I inadvertently (I always have problems spelling that word) emphasized the Scrabble game and how important it is to their relationship, I kind of liked how it came out (especially since I love Scrabble). I almost changed the name of the story to "Scrabble" but it felt too flat (and I would've had to change all the chapter titles to adjust to it) so I left it with Poe. But I still love the tension the Scrabble game creates between them and how it becomes a way of communication for their feelings, I hope I could portray those scenes right.

The chapter title _The tell-tale heart_ is a really famous Poe tale, I chose it because Grimmjow's concealed feelings burst away of his own control.

Other books mentioned here: _The Quixote_, by Miguel de Cervantes is an all-time classic, and VERY heavy book. I have just read fragments of it, but it's a classic of Hispanic literature. The other Poe Tales mentioned are all tales I like, (my particular favorite is _The Murders in the Rue Morgue_)

My only fear here is that I feel Grimm was a bit too OOC, you'll have to tell me if I messed up. I might have gotten carried away with the fluffiness. I still hope you liked it. And I also noticed there are very few actually romantic scenes, even the last scene is kind of mundane, but I feel that's the kind of relationship that fits them here, too much mushiness didn't feel quite right.

I SERIOUSLY right too many notes. But I hope you've liked this story and I'll be publishing some more stuff soon now that the GrimmUlquifanbook is out (GO CHECK IT OUT! It's totally AWESOME!) For now this is it, I loved all your encouragement and I hope I could give you some good time with this story. Please tell me what you think, I really appreciate all of your reviews!

Oh! And Happy belated birthday Grimmjow! I wanted to upload this for the 31st but my sister got bitchy and I had to fight her for the PC Dx. Anyway, see you next time. End giant author notes that nobody reads!


End file.
